Together
by FirePearl97
Summary: Primrose Everdeen and Rory Hawthorne have been best friends since they were little. They are both now 14 and have been led to believe that Katniss and Peeta died in their games the year before, but have they really? Or is this just another one of Snow's evil plans to break them? When they are both reaped into the 75th Games they will try and find the answers and protect each other.
1. Lost

**Hello! My brother and I just came up with this idea today so I thought I'd write the first chapter and you all decide whether I should continue or not.**

**Just so you aren't confused, Everyone, including Prim thinks that Katniss and Peeta have died in the games the year before, but are they? I guess you'll just have to keep on reading the next chapters to find out for yourself!**

**Some of you know me for my first Katniss/Peeta fanfic: "Stay With Me', I'm not quite finished with that one yet but I will continue writing it, don't worry! I hope you like it!"**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or the characters, they all belong to Suzanne Collins.**

**~Chapter 1: Lost~ **

"Rory! Wait for me! Slow down!" I call laughing. Rory has been my best friend since we were like 8 or something. I stop running to catch my breath and plop down into the soft, tall yellow grass of the meadow.

My name is Primrose Everdeen but everyone just calls me Prim. I have one older sister, Katniss and then there's my mom. My dad died a few years ago in a mine explosion so I haven't seen much of my mom, she's still distant from me but things are getting better. Katniss hunts in the forbidden woods early every morning with her best friend Gale who is also Rory's older brother, I guess that's sort of how the two of us became friends, because our older siblings spent so much time together. I guess I should change the way I said that, she _used to_ hunt in the woods every day with Gale. She was in the 74th Annual Hunger Games last year, along with the baker's boy, Peeta Mellark and they both died there. I still don't want to let myself believe that she's really gone but it's been almost a year, and in a few more weeks the 75th Annual Hunger Games will be taking place, oh joy.

Rory has two younger siblings, Vick is 12 and Posy is 8, they are pretty much like my own brothers and sisters since I only have Katniss.

Everyone thinks that Rory and I are a couple or something, but he's just like the brother I never had, plus we've been best friends for too long to get all romantic, that would just be weird, and I'm pretty sure that Rory thinks of me only as a sister. Our birthdays are only a few months apart in the spring so we are now both 14.

"Couldn't keep up with me huh?" Rory smirks as he lies down on his back beside me. His longish dark brown hair is wet with sweat and sticking up in every direction, I hold in the urge to burst out laughing, but knowing Rory he wouldn't like me making fun of his looks, he's ego is quite large, just like his older brother. I have to admit though, he is quite the looker, I can see how the girls at school look at him. I'm pretty normal looking except I look more like a townie than a girl from the seam. Katniss and the Hawthornes definitely belong here in the Seam with their olive colored skin and dark hair and grey eyes. My hair is golden blond, long and wavy but I usually keep it in braids.

My eyes are a plain blue, I would much rather have Katniss's looks and eyes but she tells me everyday how beautiful I am, so I just stopped wishing.

"I just needed a short break." I reply to his question.

"Suuure." He smirks again, looking just like his older brother in the process, and locks his hands together behind his head as he squints his eyes up while looking into the bright blue sky.

"You miss her?" It's more of a statement then a question. I nod slowly nod my head up and down, and lie down next to him, letting my face soak up the warm sun. I hold my breath, trying not to let the tears fall.

"I'm so sorry Prim." He says, with genuine sympathy in his voice, then scoots closer to me and puts one of his arms around my shoulders.

"Thanks Rory." I whisper. We stay like that for a while until I remember the real reason we came to the meadow.

"I have to get those herbs to mother before it gets late!"

"Calm down!" He chuckles slightly. "We'll find them in no time with the two of us working together."

"You're the best Rory!" I giggle and give him a hug then stand up and pull him up with me.

"Yes, I know." He replies smugly.

"Shut up!" I say, still laughing and push him in the chest. He staggers back a little but regains his footing in time.

"Oooh! You are so gonna get it!" He growls playfully and starts coming after me. I'm not tired one bit anymore and sprint off, running as fast as my legs will let me. I don't know why I ever run away from Rory, he recently went through a growth spurt and is now way taller than me. It only takes a few seconds for him to catch up with me, he grabs my hand while passing and pulls me along with him.

"I can't run as fast as you, slow down or you'll end up dragging me behind you!" I yell at him. He doesn't answer but does slow down a bit.

We tromp further and further into the forest, our eyes wide open, searching for the correct plants that hold the leaves my mother uses for healing all different kinds of illnesses and diseases, and pretty much everything. Gale has been teaching Rory how to shoot with a bow and arrow so no whenever we are out in the woods alone he always has it strapped on to his back, just in case.

"Here's one!" I say triumphantly, pointing to a cluster of plants directly in the middle of our path.

"Good work Prim. Just pick as much as your mom needs then we can put them in my bag until you get home."

"Okay." I say and bend down and begin picking the leaves off of the plant and handing them Rory. "That should be enough for now." I tell him after a few minutes of picking, the plant is almost bare now anyway.

After about an hour of picking leaves the sun has gone down a considerable amount, I can barely see a yard in front of me.

"We'd better start heading back if we don't want to stay the night out here." Rory mentions wisely.

"Sure Rory, I'm about finished anyways. Let's go." I take his hand and we turn back the way we came. We walk without stopping for a half an hour and we still haven't come to the meadow yet.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" I whisper.

"I think so. Don't worry Prim, if we don't make it back soon Gale will come looking for us." This does little to comfort me but I keep my mouth shut and just grip his hand tighter. The trees start becoming closer and closer together, and I'm quite sure that I've never been in this part of the woods before.

"I don't recognize this, do you Rory?" I ask him quietly.

"I'm not sure." His body is tensed beside mine, and I can tell that he's worried about not getting me home safe tonight.

"We'll be okay." I assure him. He gives me a small smile that I can barely make out in the twilight. We're still trudging through the dense piles of leaves and dried stick when the moon comes out, and I still don't recognize any of our surroundings.

"I hope Mother doesn't get worried." I say, mostly to myself.

"She'll probably end up going over to my house then they'll most likely send Gale out to look for us."

"Yeah, probably."

Just then a raindrop lands on my nose, startling me.

"It's beginning to rain, lets hurry." Rory says and starts pulling me along, faster. Soon the rain is coming down in torrents and we are both drenched right down to the bone. Rory put his arm around me, trying to shield me from the wind and rain, it doesn't really help, but I don't tell him that.

Suddenly a flash of lightning shoots down and hits a tree only a few yards away from us. I let out a scream and Rory starts running faster, if that is even possible. I hear a crash but don't look back, but then we both start coughing from smoke and I look behind me and one of the trees that was struck by lightning has erupted into flames; flames that are coming closer and closer to us, lapping at our heals.

"Come on!" Rory urges me. My lungs are burning from breathing in the smoke and my legs feel like they are going to fall off, but I don't stop.

A little while later the fire stops and the air is clearer and cleaner.

"We made it." Rory pants, putting his hands on his knees, bending over trying to catch his breath, I do the same. Once I can breathe normally again I look around us, then a smile creeps up onto my face. We're standing in our meadow, safe and sound, for now.

Hand in hand we make our way to the weak spot in the fence that Katniss and Gale first found. Rory is just about to lift the bottom up for me to slide under, when the unmistakable sound of power running through the lines reaches our ears.

"What?!" He says in disbelief. "The fence hasn't been turned on in ages! Why now?"

"It's okay, I'm sure it'll be back off tomorrow, lets find some place to spend the night." He nods and takes my hand again. We end up walking silently to Katniss's and Gale's secret cave that they showed us not that long ago, they only used it on days like this when the fence had been turned on and they were stuck out in the woods over night.

"We may as well make ourselves comfortable for the night." I say. "Yeah. Come sit next to me, you're freezing." I hadn't noticed until now that my teeth are chattering and my whole body is shaking from the cold.

"We need to get you out of you wet clothes." He tells me, taking on his serious, grown up like voice.

"Uh Rory, I'm not going to spend the night in my underwear." He smirks and hands me an old blanket, but at least it's dry.

"Here, you can wrap yourself up in this."

"Thanks. Now turn around." He does so and I quickly change out of my dress. I usually wear pants to the woods but we weren't hunting, just going to pick herbs so I didn't think I needed to change. When I'm wrapped up securely in the blanket I glance over at Rory.

"You're going to need to change too or you could get sick."

"I will, don't worry." I cover my head with the blanket while he changes the take it off when I feel him sitting next to me, also wrapped up in a blanket. Our clothes hang on the low ceiling from a few hooks that were left here probably for that purpose.

"Good night Prim." Rory whispers and kisses my wet head.

"Night Rory." And with that I drift off to sleep on the hard rocky floor as my bed and Rory's arm for a pillow.

**Well, what did you think of the first chapter? **** If I can get ten reviews I'll make the next one even longer! I hope you liked it! If people like it then I'll probably update 2-3 times a week because I have my other story to update as well**

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review!**


	2. Safe and Sound

**Thanks for all of you who reviewed my one=shot and this one too! I only got four for this first chapter but it's a start! I wanted to update the next chapter anyway so here it is**** Hope you like it!**

**Thank you to: Wolfheart4, FearlesswithHimJC, canadianboy98 and TragedyIsTheKey for reviewing the first chapter! **

**Soo I was thinking about doing the whole story in Prim's POV but I want your opinion, should I do just prim or go back and forth between her and rory?:)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Games or the Characters, the rest came from my imagination…**

**Chapter 2! ~Prim's POV~**

My hand feels around where I am sleeping, but instead of the soft sheets of my bed it's hard, cold rock. I lazily open my eyes to a dark cave, my head is on someone's arm, it's Rory. It takes a minute to remember where exactly I am and why but it soon all comes flooding back to me. Rory groans and sits up, rubbing his stiff neck.

"Sleeping next to Vick in a tiny bed is a walk in the park compared to this." He grumbles.

"Good Morning to you too Rory." I say smiling.

"The fence had better be turned off today because I am not sleeping like that again, I think my back is permanently damaged." He says, ignoring my greeting. He tries to stand up, clutching the small of his back like and old man. He looks so funny that I can't help but laugh, pretty soon we're rolling around on the floor, still in our blankets, laughing our heads off at our predicament.

"Are our clothes dry yet?" I ask once we've regained our composure and stopped laughing.

"I'll check." Rory stands up and walks over to where our clothes were hanging from the ceiling during the night. "They'll be fine for now." He says after feeling the fabric, then tosses my dress over to me, I catch it in my hands. With our backs to each other we quickly change into our freezing clothing then wrap back up into our warm blankets.

"What time of day do you think it is?" I ask, mostly myself. Rory shrugs and hobbles like a mummy over to the hidden entrance to the cave and peeks out. "It looks to be about early morning from the direction of the sun, maybe 6 or 7am."

"Well if the fence is turned off then Gale should be here anytime to rescue us." I say hopefully. He nods in agreement and pulls the shrubs back into place over our hideaway, only a little sliver of light comes through, enough for us to see each other and that's about it. "But remember he's started working in the mines and starts at about 7 so even if the fence is turned off he might not have had time to come look. He'll get his pay docked if he's late." He says, then asks,

"Do you still have your mother's herbs and things?" I nod and go over to our bag of things. "Here they are, but I'm not sure if they're still alive, they might have all died in the rain because there was too much water." I open the bag and begin pulling out the leaves and things and setting them around the small cave to dry. "I think they'll be okay." I tell him. "That's good." He replies and squats down beside me to help lay out the leaves. I've begun to warm up and my dress is now warm with my body heat, so I deposit my blanket in the corner where I found it and Rory does the same.

"So what do we do now?" I ask him.

"I guess we could go check and see if the fence is still on, our moms are probably freaking out because we're not home yet, I don't know if your mom will let you come to the woods with me anymore." He starts grinning during the last few words.

"Don't worry Rory." I assure him "Nothing could keep me from coming out here and spending time with you. The woods remind me so much of Katniss, I just couldn't stop coming, no matter what the risks." I give him a small smile and he gives me a comforting friendly hug.

"Should we go?" I ask suddenly standing up. I don't want to sit here for too long and end up crying or feeling sorry for myself or something.

"Sure, let's get out of here!"

"What should we do with the leaves?" He stops to think about it then seems to come up with a solution. "We can leave them here for now, and if the fence is off then we can come back for them later."

"That's a good idea." I agree.

Together we pull the bushes out of the way and step out into the trees. Evidence of the storm from the night before is all around us. Trees litter the path and charred leaves cover the ground.

"That was some storm last night." I say, looking around us.

"Yeah it was, I hope no one was hurt." Rory replies.

"Me too. Come on, let's go." I take his hand and we start skipping through the trees like little kids, pretty soon we come to the meadow and a few minutes after that we're at the fence.

"Do you here anything?" Rory asks, listening intently for the hum of the electricity. I shake my head. "I think it's off!"

"I'll go first." He inches closer and closer to the fence, then slowly stretches out his hand. When he's sure it's safe for us to crawl under he lifts up the weak spot for me to crawl under, I do the same for him once I'm on the other side.

"We made it!" I squeal excitedly and wrap my arms around Rory. He seems stunned at first but then relaxes and hugs me back.

"Do you want to go back for the leaves?"

"We can do that later, I think mother will more glad to see me than worried about the plants." I tell him.

"That's what I thought." We walk hand in hand, first to my house where he drops me off then promises to see me either tonight or tomorrow at school, then he sprints of in the direction of his own home where I'm sure his family is waiting impatiently for his return. When he's out of sight I quickly turn around and hurry up to my front door. I burst in to find mother stirring something on the stove, looking like she hadn't had a wink of sleep all night.

"Prim? Prim is that you?!"

"It's me mom!" She takes a few steps and engulfs me into a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh honey I was so worried about you!" She cries softly into my hair. I awkwardly pat her comfortingly on the back, speaking soothing words that I'm okay and that we were just trapped behind the fence for the night and that nothing bad happened to us. "I am never letting you out there again!" She tells me firmly once she's dried her tears.

"But Mom! You need you herbs and leaves from the forest! And plus, it's all I have left of Katniss." I say the last part in a barely audible whisper.

"Okay, but no more staying until dark, that's when the fence is turned on, if at all."

"Thanks Mom!" I give her a quick hug then hurry to the room that Katniss and I once shared and take off my dirty dress, leaving it in a heap on the floor and step into the tub of luke warm water. I sigh in relief as the water soaks in and my sore muscles relax. After a little bit of sitting in the small metal tub, the water begins to cool off quite a bit so I give myself a quick washing and do my hair as well. Once I'm clean I put on my only other dress and brush out the tangles in my hair before parting it down the middle and putting my blond hair into two braids.

When I exit my small bedroom Mother has a bowl of warm stew on the table waiting for me. We eat a lot less meat ever since Katniss left but Gale, when he has the time, has been teaching Rory and I how to shoot and set up traps, and of course whenever he hunts he always brings some of his catch to us. Apparently he and Katniss always had this deal, that if one of them were to get reaped, the other would try his or her best to care for the other's family.

I devour my stew in about 2 minutes because I was so hungry, then I tell mother that I'm going to my room. I missed school today so I just lay down on my bed, which feels like a king's bed compared to the hard rocky surface that I slept on last night, and instantly fall asleep. I don't even have any nightmares like I do pretty much every night ever since Katniss was reaped and then died.

I awaken a few hours later, the sun is already high in the sky so its probably mid afternoon. I'm not expecting Rory to come over until this evening, if at all today, so I surprised when I see him leaning on the door frame at the entrance to my room.

"How long were you watching me sleep." I eye him accusingly.

"Oh, only a few minutes, you looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you up."

"Why thank you Rory." I say smiling.

"So what did your mom say?" he asks.

"Well she was going to ban me from ever going into the woods, but I reminded her about the herbs and things that she needs."

"And the fact that it reminds you of Katniss." He finishes for me.

"Yeah." I whisper. "That too.

"Sorry, I know you don't like to talk about her."

"Thanks Rory, you're the best friend anyone could ever have." He grins and sits down next to me on my bed and puts his arm around my shoulders; I lean onto his shoulder and we just sit there in the silence, being able to know what the other is feeling without speaking.

"Are you going to be at school tomorrow?" He asks, breaking the silence after a few minutes. I turn my head so I can look at him. "I guess I have to, it's too bad I didn't hurt myself somehow while we were in the woods, then I could stay home!"

He chuckles. "Believe me Prim, when I say that you would much rather go to school." We both laugh, then I speak up. "I still can't believe that we outran that fire and dodged all those falling trees!"

"I know! We sure were good." Rory agrees, grinning. We sit there and talk for a little longer until Rory says that he has to get back to his house for dinner.

"I'll come by here at 8am sharp to pick you up for school tomorrow." I nod.

"Okay see you then!" We embrace quickly and then he walks out the door.

"Good-Bye Rory." I whisper, even though I know that he can't here me. For some reason I miss him already. _You were just with him Prim! Stop acting like some lovesick teenager, you two are best friends. Besides, you'll be seeing him in just a few hours. _I fall back to sleep with these thoughts running through my head.

**The second chapter is finished! What did you all think of it? Thanks for the reviews and positive feedback, please review for this one too! And don't forget to tell me, either in a review or PM if you want me to keep the whole story in Prim's point of view, or if I should change off and do a chapter in Rory's once in while**** I'm fine doing whatever but I want your opinion. **

**I also want to think of a different title for this story. I had wanted to post the first chapter and had to have a title in order to do that so I just wrote b=what came to my head first, so if you have any brilliant title ideas I'd love to hear them!**

**Thanks again for reading. **

**Until chapter 3!**

**Adios Amigos!**

**~FirePearl**


	3. The Quarter Quell Reaping

**Thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter. I wasn't planning on writing this one today but I was inspired so here you go. I skipped to the reaping so that's what this chapter is.**

**Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games even though I wish I did.**

Chapter 3~

It's reaping day today and I would be lying if I said that I am ready and not nervous. To be honest I'm even more scared than I was last year. If I get reaped this year and don't make it back, I don't want to think of what would happen to Mother. She relies on my trips into the woods to bring back the necessary herbs and plants for her healing business because we don't have the money to buy real medicine.

The reaping starts at 10am so we have one hour before we need to start making our way to the center of District 12. Everyone is supposed to be present unless you are on your deathbed and can't get up. This is my 3rd reaping and so far I've been lucky, but my sister wasn't. I've never taken out tesserae like her and Gale neither has Rory, so the odds are in our favor this year.

When I've finished my bath I see that Mother has carefully laid out one of her old merchant dresses from when she lived in town, I can finally fit into them and even under these dreary circumstances I'm excited to wear one of her pretty dresses, something other than my 2 old ripped and patched ones.

I quickly dress and then stroll into the kitchen where I seat myself in one of the four rickety, old wooden chairs that Father made years ago. Mother comes up behind me and begins to put my hair in the complicated braid that she used to do for Katniss on reaping days.

"Thanks Mom." I say once she's finished. She gives me a smile begins to fix her own hair.

At 9:45am we close our door behind us and start our short walk to the center square, meeting up with other solemn families from the Seam along the way. The Hawthornes join us a few minutes later, everyone in their best clothes, and Rory hurries over to walk beside me.

"Nervous much?" He whispers. I nod, not having to answer with words, whatever emotions I'm experiencing right now are probably pretty close to the ones he has as well.

"Prim!" I look behind me to see an overly enthusiastic little Posy, skipping happily over to Rory and I, squeezing in between us, and taking each of our hands in one of hers.

"Hey Pos, how are you sweetie?" I ask, putting on a cheerful face for her and pushing my nervousness to the back of my mind.

"Good! Where are we going?" she asks.

"We're just going to town for a little while, then we can go back home for a yummy dinner, okay?"

"Okay!" She releases our hands and runs back over to Hazelle when we enter the square with so many people milling about that a little child could easily get lost.

I get into line with Rory and once we're checked in we head to the 14-year-old section, him to the boys and me to the girls, separated only by a thin rope in between us. I push through the large group of girls and get to the rope where Rory is already standing, just on the other side.

He grabs my hand without hesitation and we both hold on to each other for dear life. I don't know why I'm so nervous, the name _Primrose Everdeen_ is only in that glass bowl 3 times, same for Rory. Gale is too old and Vick and Posy are too young, I'm not close to anyone else. But reaping day isn't a fun day for anyone except for all those freakish capitol people who never really stop to think that this is actually a very evil game that the president puts on, kids killing kids just to let the Districts know that the capitol is and will always be in control. It just makes me sick.

I dig my fingernails into the skin of Rory's palm, but he doesn't seem to notice, he's squeezing my hand almost as hard, but I don't mind. Mayor Undersee greets everyone and says the required speech made every year before introducing this years District 12 's escort.

Effie Trinket clinks up the stairs to our wobbly stage in her ridiculous high heels and walks carefully over to the microphone.

"Thank you mayor." She begins, with an overly fake shrilly voice. I remember Katniss and Gale used to try and mimic the funny capitol accents that the people on TV use, they would always end their speech with, 'And may the odds be ever in your favor!'

"Welcome, Welcome." She smiles a big toothy grin, bright pink lipstick covering her big lips. She obviously was in a hurry this morning while putting it on because there is an evident splotch right on her two front teeth. I cover my mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

"The time has come to select one courageous young man and women for the honor of participating in the 75th Annual Hunger Games! Also this year is the Quarter Quell, so the president has added an unusual twist this year!" She ends her short speech like she just announced that our district is to be showered with gifts. Her pink heels click on the wooden stage as she makes her way over to the three glass bowls on a small table that faces the awaiting crowd. _Why are there three? The Third one is empty, which makes it doubly strange._

She pulls out a paper white envelope with the dark red capitol seal melted onto it. Effie breaks the seal and carefully slides the letter out with her extra long false fingernails, flipping it open she clears her throat.

"This year is a bit different." She begins. "Instead of President Snow reading the Quarter Quell on TV, each district escort will be reading it." A hush falls over the crowd, not like anyone was speaking before, but now no one even dared to breath. I took Rory's other hand in my free one and squeezed.

"For the 3rd Quarter Quell, children from the ages 13-20 will be reaped along with two victors from each district, but since we only have one victor and if Haymitch were to be reaped then there would be no mentor. So everything will go normally except for the ages." Everyone lets out an audible sigh of relief. But inside I'm panicking. _Now Gale can be reaped! And he has a lot of slips in that bowl. What will we do if he goes to be with Katniss and Peeta? _

I glance at Rory and can tell that he's thinking the same thing.

"We will start with the boys this time." Effie's hand swirls around in the glass, searching for the perfect victim, while everyone else just wants her to hurry up and get it over with. _Please don't let it be Rory or Gale." _I pray silently.

Rory is holding his breath, watching our escorts hand move around amongst the boys' names until you are dizzy from watching so intently.

Effie finally picks one and holds it closer to see the name printed on it. She opens it painfully slow.

"The lucky boy to be chosen for this years games is…" She pauses for dramatic effect. "Rory Hawthorne!" _Wait? What! The odds were definitely in his favor with only 3 slips in that bowl among hundreds. No! It can't be my one and only best friend._

I look at him, but he doesn't seem to realize what is going on. He just stands there, staring at nothing.

The boys begin to make a path for him to walk through, then it seems to sink in. A look of horror comes over his face, but he quickly covers it up with a no emotion expression and walks slowly but steadily up to the awaiting Effie Trinket, and most likely his death.

"Come, come." She motions with her hand for Rory to come up. He locks eyes with mine for a split second then climbs bravely up the steps.

"You are very lucky young man." She tells him. He doesn't even blink, just stares out into the crowd, unseeing. I can hear Hazelle crying softly behind us and I turn around to see Mother trying to comfort her.

At first I wonder why Gale didn't volunteer, but I know why, if he left his family would starve, Rory doesn't know enough to support his family yet.

_Oh Rory what will I do without you?_

"Now for the girls!" Effie walks back over to the table and the girls' bowl and does the same thing that she did with the boys' until she finds just the right one.

"Our girl tribute is…" I see Rory staring at me, hoping that my name is not on that slip of paper.

"Primrose Everdeen." I look around to see who is the victim, then I realize that everyone is staring at me, and Rory looks like he's going to be sick.

The name is mine. I have been reaped the year after my sister to die in the stupid hunger games along side my best friend. This is no coincidence. This is the doing of President Snow, to purposely leave my mother alone.

I lift my chin into the air and stroll courageously up to the stage.

"Our years tributes! Rory Hawthorne and Primrose Everdeen!" I grasp Rory's hand and hold it tight. No one claps for us, it's the little bit of rebellion that they can show to the capitol without being sentenced to death for.

A few minutes later we are being escorted of the stage to the Justice Building where we will be allowed one hour to say our good-byes. I hold onto Rory until we come to a hallway with two room across from each other. They rip us apart and we are both thrown into separate rooms to await our visitors.

**So? What did you think? Hope you liked it! Please review, and I got two reviews saying that I should have rory's pov in here as well, so I'll probably do that in the next chapter.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**~FirePearl**


	4. I'm not letting you die for me'

**Happy Thanksgiving! So I'm posting a short chapter today because I'm just being nice**** And I got some real positive reviews telling me to continue so here you are. I won't be updating until Friday or Saturday just so you know.**

**Thank you to: hatgal012, Hejsanhejsan, canadianboy98, FearlesswithHimJC, HGFan4719, and Wolfheart4 who reviewed the last chapter! Hope you enjoy this short but sweet chapter**

**Chapter 4! ~Rory's POV~**

"_Rory Hawthorne!" It takes a minute for the name to register into my brain. It's me! Out of hundreds of slips only three of them had my name on them. I notice that the boys have parted to make a path for me to walk up to the stage. I try to look tough and not as scared as I actually am. _

_Effie Trinket tells me to come up, but I hardly hear her. My eyes drift to Prim who has a look of horror on her pretty little face._

_I hope that Gale takes care of them after I'm gone; I hope she doesn't miss me too much. But I know that I'll miss her with all of my being. Prim is the only real friend that I've had, and I hate it that today will be our last time together. Before I know it Effie is reading the girls name. 'Primrose Everdeen.' Oh please no, not her, I won't be able to watch her die or kill her! She walks bravely up to the stage and takes my hand. I give it a comforting squeeze, and before I know it we are being ushered by peacekeepers to our separate rooms to wait for visitors. _

Ma, Vick and Posy are my first visitors. Posy runs in and jumps into my arms, hooking her arms around my neck tightly.

"Waya goin' Woey?" She asks in her innocent five-year-old voice. She still can't say her 'r's' so that's how my name come out sounding. I chuckle and answer her question.

"I'm going to the fancy capitol for a little vacation, but I'll be back soon."

"Is Pwim goin' too?" I nod. "Yes, Prim is coming with me."

"I'll miss you." She snuggles into my chest and I hug her tight then hand her to Ma who also gives me a quick hug and kisses my forehead.

"You'll be a gentleman and look out for Prim for as long as you can, won't you son?" I nod, not trusting my voice.

"I know you love her, I'm so sorry everything had to turn out like this." It's when she says this that I can't hold back the tears any longer and allow them to flow freely down my cheeks. Posy reaches over and wipes them away. Vick comes to me next and hugs me tight.

"You be could for Ma and watch out for Posy alright?" I tell the 11-year-old. He nods, trying to be strong for Posy who are both crying now.

I hug them all once more then they are shooed out by a peacekeeper. I don't have any real friends so I don't expect any more visitors; I am then surprised when the door open and a woman enters the room. It's Mrs. Everdeen.

"You'll watch out for my baby girl won't you Rory?" Is the first thing she says.

"Of course, she's my best friend, I won't let anything happen to her if I can prevent it." I assure her. Tears are streaming down her cheeks by now.

"I always expected for you two to get married one day." I have a confused look on my face when she says this.

"Me and Prim?"

"Yes. I see the way you look at her, I know that you think of her more than just a best friend now you are a little older."

"I-I don't know what to say, my mother said the same thing." She lets out a small laugh.

"So you don't deny it?"

"I-I guess n-not."

"Be safe Rory." She gives me a hug then leaves. My hour is almost up, no one else will be coming in so I just sit back on one of the comfy couches and close my eyes, thinking through everything that just happened in such a short time.

**~Prim's POV~**

My eyes are red and puffy and my throat is raw from crying. The Hawthornes and Mother were my only visitors and they are gone now. I'm left alone in the white room with one red sofa that I am currently stretched out on. My mind still can't seem to comprehend what has just happened. In two hours I was reaped in the 3rd Quarter Quell along side my best friend. There's no way I'll be coming back, we're going in against 44 other tributes, half of which are previous victors.

I'm beginning to think that I was forgotten in this room when two peacekeepers enter the room and lead me out the door and down the street to the train station where our capitol train awaits us. A large group of people comes to see us off. As I step up on the platform so does Rory, he comes over to me and takes me hand. I spot Mother and the Hawthornes, all who are crying. We put up our free hands and wave, they in turn out their three middle fingers to their lips as a sign of good-bye.

The train jerks forward and I lose my footing my Rory catches me. We wave until our families are out of sight then I turn to him and bury my face in his chest. I can't cry, I don't have any more tears left but I'm just glad he's here right now, to hold me tight, feeling my pain.

A few minutes later a bubbly Effie comes out and lectures us on the importance of manners, health and a bunch of words I'd never even heard of. Then she makes go inside and takes us to our rooms that are opposite each other. I've never seen anything so fancy in my life. The room that I'll be staying in until we arrive at the capitol is as big as my entire house, Rory's is the same just blue, mine is a light purple. Rory takes one look at his room then comes over to mine. We sit on my huge bed together admiring everything from the large windows to the closet full of new clothes that Effie said would fit us perfectly.

"You're coming back Prim, I'll make sure you do." Rory breaks the silence by saying this.

"What? You have to at least try, you can't just give up. Besides, you have a family to take care of, and later you'll get married to a pretty girl."

"NO Prim I already promised both our mom's that I'd take care of you."

"Thanks Rory but I can take care of myself." I don't want him thinking that I'm a baby who needs him around all the time. So I stand up and start heading towards the door, I don't get very far before he's grabbed my arm.

"You can't do it alone." He almost whispers, looking intently into my eyes. "I'm not letting you die for me!" I yell at him.

"Well maybe I want to. Did you ever think about that possibility? Or do you think that I'm just going to watch over you because I promised your mom?" He's yelling now too.

"You would really die for me?" I whisper.

"Of course Prim! We're best friends! I'm not just going to stand by and watch you die, or even get hurt! I couldn't do that." He ends quietly. I embrace him and lay my head on his chest, never wanting to let him go.

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. Just know that you are coming home, no questions asked."

"But…" I start.

"I said no." He interrupts me

I have no choice then to listen to him right now, but it doesn't mean that I won't do anything to keep him alive. He deserves to come home. And with that we walk into the dining car where our feast awaits us.

**Hope you liked it! Please don't forget to leave a review before you go. Happy Thanksgiving! Au Revoir **

**~FirePearl**


	5. The Train

**Thanks for the encouraging reviews! So glad you guys are enjoying the story**** Hope you like this chapter too! I decided to do both and Rory's and Prim's POV's, hope it's good!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games even though I wish I did, it all begins to Suzanne Collins except for what comes from my imagination.**

**Rory's POV**

I sit up quickly in my large bed on the train, trying to figure out what the sound was that awoke me from my slumber. My ears on the alert, I listen for any unusual sounds, it takes a few moments but I finally hear it; muffled sobbing, crying out and moaning all one after the other. I'd know that voice anywhere, even if she doesn't have a habit of crying when she's around me. I quickly swing my legs off the side of my high king bed and slip my feet into a pair of soft, blue slippers that were placed directly next to the bed. After slipping a shirt on I crack my door open and squeeze through, not wanting to make noise; I don't even knock on Prim's door but walk right in.

My heart clenches in emotional pain when I see her: rolling around in her bed moaning and letting out the occasional sob, nightgown all disheveled and damp from sweat. I hurry immediately hurry to the bed and take her into my arms, wiping away the hair from her face and drying her eyes with my shirt. She eventually stops crying and just lies limply in my arms from exhaustion; I gently stroke her hair and whisper soothing words in her ear. A little while later she appears to be fine so I ask, "What happened?" It's a few seconds before she replies, and when she does I can barely make out the words since her face is still buried in to my shirt.

"I had a nightmare."

"What was it about?" I whisper.

"W-we were in t-the games." She begins slowly, taking a deep breath she begins again. "And y-you were k-killed." I hug her tightly when she says this.

"Don't worry Prim, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."

"I know. It's just that why am I have nightmares about this before we've even arrived in the capitol?"

"It's probably because Katniss is gone." I whisper, not sure if that was the best thing to remind her of right now.

"Yeah. Rory I'm terrified, terrified of the games, of what will happen, terrified of losing you." She ends quietly.

"You're not the only one." I tell her. She wraps her tiny arms around my middle and squeezes me until I feel like I'll burst.

"Thanks Rore, I'm so glad I'm going into this with you, I couldn't have done it alone."

"Hey, that's what friends are for." I give her one last squeeze and kiss the top of her head then lay her back down onto her pillow and draw the silky sheets up to her shin and tuck them around her slim body.

"Good night Prim, I'll see you in the morning."

"Night." She sighs happily and snuggles down, closing her eyes.

"Sleep well." I whisper and just stand there staring at her for a few seconds longer. Her blond, wavy hair is scattered all over her pillow like a golden halo, her long blond eye-lashes that you can only see from up close rest gently on her cheeks. Her chest rises up and down steadily telling me that she's asleep and I probably should get some as well if I don't want to be a zombie tomorrow. I take one last glace then close the door behind me.

**Prim's POV**

When I wake up the next morning, thoughts of the night before come flooding back to me; how Rory came in to comfort be and put me back to bed. I know that Rory can be sympathetic and all that, unlike his older brother, but I've never really seen that side of him before. _It was probably due to the time, everyone acts differently in the middle of the night. _I tell myself, but part of me doesn't believe it.

I quickly get out of bed and take a shower before Effie comes in to tell me that it is breakfast time. With a fluffy white towel around me I make my way to the huge maple armoire filled with more clothes I've seen in my entire life.

I decide to enjoy it for today because I'll never get another chance to wear stuff like this so after about twenty minutes of sorting through the racks and racks of wasted clothing I finally decide on a white knee-length, airy skirt with a pink flowery pattern and a light pink tank with wide, ruffled straps. I finish the outfit with a pair of silver flats with little bows on the top.

Instead of braiding my air like I usually do I blow dry it with this interesting machine that dries my hair in only a few seconds, leaving it soft and wavy. After a few minutes of searching through drawers I find a matching pink head band and put it on, I have to say that I look pretty good, for never having dressed myself in anything like this before I think I chose well.

A moment later a knock sounds at the door and I hurry to open it. Rory stands there, his hair is in its normal style: unruly, done by running his hand through it, but my jaw literally drops when I see what he's wearing. Dark jeans with a brown belt and a light blue button up shirt that was only buttoned up half way and his white undershirt is visible. A pair of brown leather sandals completes the outfit.

"Wow Rory, you look great." His eyes shift to the floor.

"Really? It looks okay? I really had no idea what would go good together and just kind of threw this stuff on."

"Well it looks good on you." I tell him smiling.

"You look amazing Prim." He says as his eyes survey my outfit.

"Thanks, it took a while to find something that didn't look too fancy, I wanted to feel comfortable but not look like a mess. I thought I'd enjoy the nice clothes if only of a day or two."

"You did good, I think you look nice in pink." I blush at his compliment.

"Thanks."

"You ready for breakfast? I don't know about you but I am starved."

"You're always hungry Rory." I tease. He throws his hands up in mock defense.

"What can I say, I'm a growing boy!" We enter the dining car hand-in-hand laughing but immediately stop when we see the table filled with the breakfast feast and the two people sitting at both ends of the long table.

"Well, well, look who decided to join us Effie." Haymitch slurs a bit, eyeing us incredulously. _How anyone can be drunk at 9am is beyond me._

"Primrose dear you look beautiful." Effie chirps happily and motions for us to take a seat.

"Thank you." I say as politely as I can and sit down next to Rory who has already begun eating.

"I don't know what to try first." I lean over and whisper to him. In answer to my dilemma he hands me a plate of scrambled eggs with what I think is bacon on the side, a few rolls and a glass of some brown liquid.

"What's in the glass?" I ask.

"I think it's called hot chocolate, I've only had it once when my Dad was still alive, believe me you'll love it." He whispers back then goes back to eating.

"Manners!" Effie screeches making me choke on my eggs. We both look at her.

"No whispering at the table! It is very rude!" I notice Rory trying to suppress a smile and I just nod and go back to eating. "I've never seen so much food before, well except for our dinner last night which was even more.

When I don't think that I could stuff in another bite I decide to ask some questions.

"So Haymitch." I begin. He looks up at me. "Since you are our mentor this year, do you have any advice for us?"

"Stay Alive." He says without hesitation.

"Well that's obvious." Rory scoffs. "Any other advice that might help us?"

"When we arrive in the capitol tomorrow the two of you will be taken to your own personal stylists. They will do things that you probably won't be comfortable with but don't say anything just do exactly what they tell you to do."

"But what if…" Rory begins but our mentor interrupts him.

"I said that you will do _exactly_ what they say, and it will probably end up helping you later on."

Rory and I nod and don't say anything after that until Haymitch speaks.

"So Primrose, do you have any hidden strengths or talents that could help you in the arena?" I take a minute to think about it before saying,

"Well I can survive, my mother is a healer so I know all about herbs and leaves, which are good for what and what is poisonous." Haymitch nods.

"That'll help more than you know kid. What about weapons?"

Before I can speak Rory blurts out quickly, "She can shoot a bow and she's really good at it." I glare at him and he just grins back.

"I'm really not that good, besides I'll never be able to go up against all those careers unless they are far away."

"Sweetheart, if you are anything like your sister I say that you have a fighting chance." My eyes drift down to my hands on my lap at the mention of my sister.

"It's okay Prim." Rory whispers. "He meant it as a compliment." I nod but can't help the tears that slip down my cheeks and land on my lap.

"She doesn't like to talk about her." I hear Rory tell Haymitch, to me he says, "Ready to go?" My answer is a quick nod of my head but that's all he needs. Taking my hand in his own he helps me up off my chair and walks me to my room.

"I'm fine, thanks." I assure him when we come to my door. "You sure?" I nod. "Yeah."

"Well in that case, do you want to go exploring?" He asks hopefully. I shrug.

"Yeah why not?" He grins and we skip happily down the hallway together to the first door that we had not yet been in. It ends up being Effie's so we quickly close it again before she catches us and starts yelling about manners. The rest of the doors in the hallways lead to empty bedrooms so we decide to check a different train car.

This is how we spend the rest of our day, not finding anything real interesting but it helped get our minds off of everything for a couple of hours.

We ended up missing lunch so we were quite hungry my the time dinner rolled around and before we knew it, it was bedtime once again, but this time I slept peacefully, without the nightmares.

**It was kind of boring, not much happened but I hoped you enjoyed reading it**** Thanks to:**

**hatgal012**

**HGFan4719**

**Wolfheart4**

**FearlesswithHimJC**

**For reviewing the last chapter, although I'd love to get more!**

**So don't forget to review when you are finished reading this**** Thanks!**

**~FirePearl**


	6. The Beginning

**Hey sorry this chapter is a little late, I just finished my other story so now I'll have more time for this one**** Thanks for all the reviews I really appreciate them. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any or the character, even though I wish that I did!**

**Chapter #6-Prim's POV**

"Good Morning." I say cheerfully as I enter the dining car. Rory is already seated and eating hungrily. He nods in my direction since his mouth is full and pats the chair beside him. I slide into it gracefully and start with a warm cinnamon roll and a mug of hot chocolate.

"Did you sleep well dear?" Effie asks while daintily picking at her eggs.

"Yes ma'am, thank you I slept very well." Effie smiles, "Such manners for one so young! I like you already." I force out a smile then turn my focus back to my delicious roll. Katniss would have loved these, especially the cheese buns. They remind me of the one time that Dad traded in a few squirrels at the bakery and brought home cheese buns for all of us; Katniss declared them to be her favorite food and now every time I see them I remember her. I bet she got her fill of buns before her games last year, I wonder if she thought of me as much as I think of her.

Now that she is gone one of worst nightmares came true. She never let me take out tesserae no matter how desperate we were, and last year my name was reaped and she volunteered for me so I would be safe; but it only gave me one more year of freedom before they decided to pick my name so that my mother is left alone to care for herself, and not just that, they had to choose my best friend as well.

"You'd better eat something sweetheart." I glance over at Haymitch. "We should be arriving in the capitol in a few hours, probably around noon or a little after and you will be taken straight to your stylists, no time for eating." I nod and scoop some fruit salad on my plate and grab another roll. I look at Rory beside me who still hasn't uttered a word, he must me trying to gain some weight during this week because we will probably end up starving in the arena and neither of us have any extra fat whatsoever.

"What do we do until we arrive?" I ask once my plate is empty. Rory however is still shoveling as much food in as he can, I'm surprised he hasn't gotten sick yet. Haymitch decided to answer my question, "You can do whatever you want as long as you look presentable before we get there." I nod. "There will be cameramen taking your pictures as soon as the train doors open and we don't want you looking like you just came from the Seam in District 12."

I glance over at Rory who has temporarily stopped chewing.

"Except we did just come from the Seam in District 12." I say, trying to to let my anger show.

"Oh, you did didn't you?" He laughs to himself. "That's hilarious!" He keeps guffawing and the three of us just sit silently waiting for him to shut up. He finally does when Effie starts yelling at him about manners and that we are her guests and that he shouldn't make us feel bad before we've even arrived in the capitol.

"I'll see you all later." I say curtly and push my chair back, standing up I give Haymitch one of my best glares and hurry off to my own room. I slept in this morning and didn't have time to take a shower so I decide to do that now, then I'll have time to fix my hair and look for a suitable outfit before we get to the capitol.

Leaving my pants and shirt in the middle of the floor I step into the enormous shower and begin pressing buttons until the water is at just the perfect temperature. Sighing in contentment I let the warm water flow down my back and wet my hair, then I press another button and shampoo that smells like vanilla and strawberries squirts out onto my head. When my hair is clean I wash my body with the same smelling soap then rinse it all of; the sudsy soap slides down and into the drain but the smells stay on me. After I'm all clean I just stay in the shower enjoying what I never had the privilege to experience until now.

I decide to get out when the room is so steamy I can barely see anything. I take one step out and am instantly hit with the dryers that dry your entire self in only a few seconds. _I don't think I could ever get used to this._ I think to myself.

Taking one of the clean fluffy towels and hug it around myself and walk over to the huge closet and swing open the doors. I decide to just put on a pair of sweats and a tank top while I put on a little make up and do my hair, then I'll change into a dress or something later. I've actually never done my own makeup before but I've seen mother put it on a few times when we had more money and I think I can do it. I don't really want to resort to asking Effie for help.

Because my hair is already dry I pick up a brush form the small table and begin brushing until it's golden and shining. Instead of braiding all of my hair I just make two tiny braids on each side of my face then connect them in the back, leaving the rest of my long, blond, wavy hair cascading down my back. I end up finding an entire case of makeup, and half the stuff I don't even know what it's for so I stick with what I do know.

A little bit of pink blush to rosy up my cheeks a bit, a tad of light pink eye shadow and some lip gloss and I'm finished. Looking at the clock on the wall I have about two more hours before we should be arriving, so I won't start looking for a dress to wear for about an hour or so.

A gentle knock sounds on my door just then and I hurry to open it, hoping that it isn't Effie or Haymitch. My wish is granted when I see Rory standing there in nothing but a pair of shorts and his hair a bit damp and ruffled signaling that he just got out of the shower.

"Hey Rore, come on in." I open the door wider for him to enter then shut and lock it behind him.

"What's up?" I ask once we're both seated on my bed.

"Oh nothing, just wanted to check on you." I smile, then frown a little and ask him the question that's been on my mind. "Are you nervous?"

"Yeah I'm nervous. I'm also kind of freaked out about what those stylists of ours will to do us. I don't want to end up looking like some freak!"

"I know." I say. "I feel the same way."

"Well they won't have much work to do on you, you're already beautiful." I feel my face heat up at the compliment.

"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself, although you should probably get a shirt on before Effie comes in and think that there is something going on in here." He nods then says. "Don't you think I look pretty good without a shirt?" I laugh as he flexes his biceps then his abs.

"You look great Rory." I assure him trying not to laugh. "But you should still put on a shirt." "Fine." He sulks and head towards the door, unlocks it and steps out into the hallway. The door has barely been closed before I hear Effie's obnoxiously high pitched voice yelling at Rory about how he shouldn't be in my room, why in the world he doesn't have a shirt on and that we are only 14. _If only she knew. _I think to myself before I burst out laughing. I'm still clutching my stomach from laughing so hard when Rory bursts in and slams the door behind him. He's wearing a t-shirt now but he looks pretty angry.

"I don't know how you put up with her Prim!" He practically yells.

"Believe me it's not that easy." I tell him. "Yeah but you're nice to everyone! How do you do it?"

"I have no idea." I admit. "I guess we all have our own personalities. I sure didn't get it from Katniss, probably from my Dad." I end in a whisper.

He sighs quietly and puts and arm around my shoulders.

"We're going to get through this." He assures me. "Together."

"But Rory only one of us can win!"

"I know Prim, but let's not talk about that right now." I nod and stay quiet.

We spend the next hour just sitting on my bed together, occasionally talking but mostly just keeping quiet and enjoying each other's presence. When I look at the clock and I realize that I have less than hour I quickly shoo Rory out of the room so that I can get changed.

I hurry excitedly to the closet and swing the doors open once more, standing in awe at the amount of clothes in it. One side is dedicated for dresses only so I begin over there. It takes a while as I search through them all. Some are way to short, some way too tight, one that's way to long and another that barely covers anything; a long sleeve that would be too warm, a strapless that I wouldn't feel comfortable in, or the color is too bright and flashy, too many sequins, too plain; but after about 20 minutes of searching I finally find the perfect dress.

It's a sky blue color and falls just below my knees; the two straps are about an inch wide but a little darker blue. A small dark blue sash completes the beautiful dress right around the middle and when I walk it flows around my legs perfectly. I find a pair of small silver heals with tiny blue sequins along the straps that match the dress to perfection. I've never worn heals before, even though these are small I have to practice walking around the room to get used to them.

All of a sudden I feel the train start to slow down and I hurry to my door and open it to find that Rory is just coming out of his room as well. He looks quite handsome in his dress pants and dark blue dress shirt that matches my dress lovely.

"You look amazing Prim." He whispers in my ear as I take his hand and hold it tightly. We walk behind Effie and Haymitch towards the exit getting more nervous by the second. As soon as the doors open the clicks and flashes of about 50 cameras temporarily blind us as we walk out. Roses are thrown at us and Rory catches one then hands it to me and I inhale the lovely smell.

We finally get through the crowds to the large building that we will be staying in for the next week. Rory and I are ripped apart to be taken to our stylists and be 'prepped'. And so it all begins.

**Well did you like it? So I think the next chapter will the prep team and all of that then the chariots, maybe I can get it to be a little longer ;)**

**I want to thank these people for reviewing the last chapter:**

**~Katniss72500: Thanks! It took a while to think of something for the QQ but I hope this turns out! Thanks for reviewing!**

**~HGFan4719: Thank you! Yeah me too**** hehe, but it'll be a while I'm sorry to say**** Thanks for reviewing!**

**~Wolfheart4: yes I know right? Thank you I will**

**~canadianboy98: Thanks bro**

**~FearlesswithHimJC: isn't he sweet? I love Rory**** Thank you!**

**~hatgal012: why thank you very much**** hope you liked this one too!**

**I'd love to get even more reviews next time! And sorry for any mistakes**** Thanks again**

**~FirePearl**


	7. Fire and Pearls

**Hey all! Well here is your knew chapter! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews for the last one, I only got six but it's still the beginning of this story, so hopefully it'll get better**

**Thanks to: canadianboy98, FearlesswithHimJC; hatgal012; XliekeX; iloverueforever; and Wolfheart4; for reviewing.**

**Enjoy~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

**Chapter #7 ~Prim's POV~**

I'm in pain. My body hurts and my skin is tingling. For the past two hours my 'prep team' have been waxing my entire body, plucking my eyebrows, trimming and washing my hair, cutting and painting my nails and giving me a facial make over. I am so numb I doubt that I could stand on my on for very long.

Just then the woman with the orange hair and fire tattoos all up her arms squirts some cream on her hands and rubs it soothingly over my entire body making me instantly sigh in relief.

"There." She says, clasping her hands together and giving me a once over. "You look beautiful honey."

"Thank you." I say politely. My whole prep team giggle to themselves annoyingly and begin to put there supplies away.

"Your personal stylist will be here in just a moment." The girl with the golden tattoos tells me. I nod and watch the four of them walk out the door. _Finally they are gone. _I think. _I wonder how Rory is handling all of this. _I snicker to myself as I get a visual in my head of a bunch of weird looking people giving my friend a make over and yanking out all of his hair, if I know Rory he's probably yelling at them the whole time_._

I look at myself in the tall silver mirror standing up in front of me. I am wearing a thin sort of hospital gown I guess until I get my costume for the chariot rides tonight; my hair is in soft and silky curls coming half way down my back, and the skin on me that is visible is totally flawless, I looked like a doll.

A knock sounds on the door and a young man walks in. He looks pretty normal compared to my prep team, no tattoos or colored hair, just a tad of gold eye shadow and that's it.

"Hello, you must be Primrose." He greets me happily. I nod, unable to speak at the moment. "I'm Cinna." He stretches out his hand and I shake it cordially. "It's nice to meet you." I get out.

"I was you sister's stylist last year." He tells me. "Katniss?" He nods. "She was quite a girl, very beautiful. I bet you miss her a lot." "Yes, I do."

"And what about you District tribute? Are you two friends?" I nod again. "He's my best and only friend."

"I'm sorry to hear that Primrose."

"Thanks Cinna." We stand there in silence for a few moments before Cinna seems to remember why he is here.

"As you know the chariot rides will be taking place this evening." He begins, and I motion for him to continue. "Well I brought your costume." Cinna picks up a large black bag hanging on hanger. "Okay then. District 12 is known for their coal mining, and as you remember last year Katniss was the girl on fire, she was intimidating and out shone everyone else there. But this time I want to try something different; I want to portray you as and innocent little girl, so instead of flames I decided on pearls." I give him a confused look.

"What do pearls have to do with fire or coal?" I ask.

"Oh you know how some people believe that coal turns into coal." I shake my head. "It doesn't happen I know that but I thought that it would suit you."

"Okay." I say, not really sure where this is going.

"Good, now please take off what you are wearing so we can see if it fits." I just look at him for a moment, making sure that I heard him correctly. He turns around to give me a little bit of privacy and I quickly step out of my light blue gown. It feels a little awkward at first but I get used to not wearing any clothes in front of Cinna, he helps me feel comfortable.

"Okay now close you eyes." He tells me and I obey. "And lift up your arms." I feel soft fabric sliding down my naked body that feels amazing.

"You can open your eyes now." I open them inspect myself in the mirror. It's the prettiest and strangest dress I've ever seen. It's cream colored with little sleeves and comes up to my neck and then reaches to my calves. Pearls and tiny pieces of coal are strung all the way down the dress and around the neck. Cinna comes back over and clasps a pearl necklace around my neck and clips on a pair of pearl earrings. So to sum it all up I am pretty much one giant pearl, but I have to say that I look pretty fabulous.

"Wow! Thanks Cinna it's beautiful!" He chuckles. "It suits you." He then brings over a shoe box and pulls out a pair of black flats with a few tiny pearls on the top.

"Do you know if Rory and I will match?" I ask, thinking back to how he had Peeta and Katniss wearing matching outfits to show unity.

"You will fit together, that's all I can say." He says.

"Okay, but when can I see him?" He chuckles again. "Soon, soon." I stay quiet while watching my stylist style my hair. He pulls it all into a side pony and ties it with a black ribbon then strings a few tiny pearls through my soft, golden curls.

"Can I ask you what your relationship with Rory is?" He asks smiling.

"I already said that he is my best friend." I say. "We've known each other since we were little, his older brother was best friends with Katniss."

"I see. So that's it, you don't like him any more than a friend." I shake my head a little to unconvincingly but Cinna doesn't push it.

"Well I think you are ready. I have to say Primrose that you are just as beautiful as your sister is."

"Thanks I say." Then I realize that he said _is_, as in she is beautiful presently. I catch him staring at me with some kind of knowing in his eyes, like he wants to tell me something but can't. Before any more words are spoken the door is swung open and Venia, my other part of my prep team, bursts in and tells us that we need to hurry.

Cinna walks beside me to a huge room filled with 12 large chariots that'll hold 4 people from each district and 44 other tributes mingling around waiting for there turn to go out. I strain me eyes, trying to get a glimpse of my friend and I do. He is walking over from a different door with an older woman who I assume is his stylist.

Rory is wearing tight-ish sleek black pants with red and orange flames that seem to be crawling up from the ankle to the knee. He has a flowing orange and red dress shirt and his dark hair is slicked back with what looks like some kind of gel. I have to say that he looks most attractive in his outfit. He grins once he sees me and hurries over.

"Prim! Or should I call you Pearl?" He jokes. "Nice to see you too Rory." I say, trying to act hurt.

"Come on." He says, throwing and arm around my shoulders. "You know that I'm happy to see you. You look amazing by the way."

"Thanks Rore."

"Don't touch her!" I turn around to see Effie running towards us in her too high heels. "Do you not have any manners young man?" She glares at Rory. "You'll mess up her dress!" Rory turns red and quickly drops his arm to his side.

"Sorry." He whispers to me. I smile and try not to laugh.

"You two look astonishing beside each other." Effie begins. "You see Rory represents the fire and coal then Primrose here is what coal turns into, pearls!" Rory tries to put on a smile but it comes out more like a grimace.

Haymitch hobbles over a minute later and compliments us on our costumes. "A little advice for you, act like friends, act like you are excited to be in the capitol, smile." I'm about to tell him that we are friends and that we don't have to act but he just hobbles away as quickly as he came.

"Just then Cinna begins herding us to our awaiting chariot. My stomach all of a sudden starts feeling sick; I stop and try to catch my breath and get my breathing back to normal.

"Prim?" I look up to see Rory with a worried expression on his face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah Rory. I'll be fine. I think I'm just a little nervous." He nods. "Me too." He takes my hand and helps me to the chariot then boosts me up. After climbing up himself one of his hands take the bar in front of us and the other grips my hand. While we wait I glance around at the 44 other tributes for the first time and begin to realize how impossible it'll be for even one of us to win with all of these huge teenagers and past victors to go against.

Together we watch the chariots head out one by one and all too soon it's our turn and our two horses, one black one white, start trotting out. I squeeze Rory's hand so hard that I'm surprised that he hasn't said anything yet, but then I see why. He his looking around us; thousands of screaming capitol freaks fill the bleachers on either sides of us, some throwing roses, others blowing kisses and screaming our names. I look up to see our faces on these big screens. My face is flushed but a smile is plastered onto my face and Rory is wearing his signature smirk; I swear I actually saw some women faint.

I take Haymitch's advice and catch a few roses and blow kisses back to those who threw them. Rory raises our raised hands much like Peeta and Katniss did last year and more screams are heard. Then just to butter it up even more I stand on my tiptoes and place a kiss on Rory's cheek. A few more women fall over in their husband's arms and even a few young men are looking pale.

Soon all 12 chariots are in a row in front of the president's mansion where President Snow himself stands on his balcony. One wave of his hand and the crowds are silent. "Welcome, welcome." He begins in welcoming us to this occasion. He gives a short speech for which I zone out for most of. Soon he is finished and our chariots begin moving out from District one going first and ending with ours.

When we stop back where we started Rory helps me down and we are instantly surrounded my our prep teams and stylists and of course Effie and Haymitch.

"Oh you two were absolutely fantastic!" Effie squeals giving us each a hug and a big sloppy kiss on each cheek.

"Good job sweetheart, they'll remember you two." Haymitch says and gives me an awkward side hug and shakes Rory's hand. "Just like your sister." He directs this to me. "I'm sure she is so proud of you." There it is again! The present tense _is._ It might just be my imagination but I'm beginning to think that Haymitch and Cinna know something that we don't and are leaving little hints or something.

We are then told to go back to our rooms and prepare for dinner, the rest of them are staying to converse with a few of the other previous victors. Thankfully the elevator is empty when we get in and press the _12_ button that will bring us to our floor.

"I'll be glad when it is bed time." I say to Rory, yawning. "Yeah, me too."

The elevator dings and the doors slide open. We say our good-byes and head into our own rooms to change. I quickly shut my door behind me and just lean onto it, closing my eyes.

For once since last year I actually have hope.

**So what did you think? Hope you liked it! I'll see you next chapter, don' forget to leave a quick review before you go!**

**~FirePearl**


	8. AN- Tributes

**Hey! So I was writing out all the tributes for these games so I don't forget or something lol. And I thought that maybe you would like to send in descriptions/names/allies/weapon/death...etc for a person or two or three (lol) listed here. If you want...**

** TRIBUTES:**

**DISTRICT 1: ****Female (15); Male (17); Gloss and Cashmere**

**DISTRICT 2: ****Female (13) RESERVED; Male (18); Enobaria and Brutus**

**DISTRICT 3: ****Female (18) RESERVED; Male (16) RESERVED; Nuts and Volts**

**DISTRICT 4: Misty**** (17); Caspian (15); Finnick and Annie**

**DISTRICT 5: ****Female (13); Male (14); Female (25); Male (34)**

**DISTRICT 6: ****Female (14); Male (17); Female (27); Male (20)**

**DISTRICT 7: ****Female (17); Male (16); Johanna and Male (39**

**DISTRICT 8: ****Female (16); Male (13); Female (55); Male (40)**

**DISTRICT 9: ****Female (12); Male (15); Female&Male morphlings**

**DISTRICT 10: ****Female (18); Male; (17); Female (32); Male (45)**

**DISTRICT 11: ****Female (13); Male (16); Chaff and Seeder**

**DISTRICT 12: ****Primrose Everdeen (14) & Rory Hawthorne (14)**


	9. New Friends, Potential Allies

**Hey all! I'm back with another chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, glad you are enjoying it**** So I still have a lot of tributes open if any of you want to send in names or descriptions for them. Whenever someone adds a name I'll update that one page/chapter, so you can just check it occasionally if you want**** Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games**

**Chapter #8**

"Prim dear! It's time to get up, it's going to be a big, big day!" I groan and roll over pulling my pillow on top of my head to try and drown out Effie's obnoxiously loud voice. Just as I'm beginning to drift back off into dreamland I hear my door being opened and then someone jumping onto my bed. I sit up quickly, flinging my hair out of my face to find Rory on my bed, grinning wickedly.

"H-how did you get in? I ask, confused. "I'm sure I locked the door last night so intruders couldn't get in." Rory chuckles and holds up a key. "Haymitch keeps an extra key for each room just in case someone refuses to get out of bed." Then he grins again and sits on my legs, pinning me to the mattress, then begins to unmercifully tickle me until I'm crying and my pillow is all wet.

"Y-you are s-so gonna get it!" I say between fits of laughter.

"Yeah yeah, sure you will." Is all he says and continues to dig his finger into my ribs where I am most ticklish. A few minutes later knocking is heard on my door and Effie yells at us to hurry up. Rory reluctantly hops off of me and hurries to his own room to get changed for our first day of training.

I slide out of my warm and cozy blankets to find a one piece black and red jumped draped over a chair with a note attached to it:

_Put this on for training- C_

"Thanks Cinna." I say to myself and begin slipping my nightgown over my head. The training suit fits me perfectly and is tight enough to allow me to move freely, almost like I'm not wearing anything, it's kind of nice for a change. It is mostly black with a little bit of dark red down the legs and arms along with a red _12_ stitched to the side of my right arm. When I'm dressed I quickly put my hair into one braid and pull on the required black boots for training.

Not surprisingly I am the last one to arrive at the breakfast table. Effie glares as only she can; Rory gives me a smile, and Haymitch just ignores me and continues eating whatever is within reach. We are rushed through breakfast because Effie doesn't want to be late for our first day of training, and so ten minutes later she and Haymitch drop us of onto the elevator like it's our first day of school; I'm nervous and I can tell that Rory is too.

We reach for the others hand almost simultaneously and squeeze for encouragement. The elevator soon dings and we enter the biggest room that I have ever seen in my life. It looks as though we are the last ones here because when we walk in all 44 pairs of eyes turn to look at us; I just tighten my grip on Rory's hand.

"Where do you want to start first?" He whispers in my ear.

"How about we go to the plant section quickly then once those other tributes are somewhere else we can try one of the weapon sections and you can help me shoot a bow or something." I suggest.

"Good idea." We walk hand-in-hand to the plant section where the young woman there to help us greets us warmly. She seems excited to see us; I'm guessing that we are the first ones to come to her station. She helps us to identify a few of the plants and berries that we don't have back home but we are familiar with most of them and I think that she is pretty impressed.

When I think that all the information is firmly implanted into my brain for a time that will need it Rory and I start heading towards the archery station, which is currently empty. I sigh in relief and we both grab a bow and an arrow. I have the general idea on how to hold it and aim so we just practice hitting the target; I feel quite proud of myself after I hit the bulls-eye three times in a row.

"You're pretty good." I spin around and come face to face with tall blond haired boy who I'm guessing is around 15 years old. Glancing quickly at his arm I find out that he is from District 4, a career.

"Um t-thanks." I stutter.

"No problem." He gives me a toothy grin showing off his perfect straight, white teeth. "I'm Caspian, District 4." He sticks out his hand to shake mine. I hesitate for a moment before deciding that he's pretty harmless and grasp his larger hand with my small ones. I look over to where Rory is still shooting, it doesn't look as though he's noticed my encounter with a career yet, well no need for him to worry.

"That's my district partner over there." He points to a small girl with darker blond hair who looks like she could be his sister. "Her name's Misty. She's 17."

"That's my partner shooting the bow." I say pointing to Rory. "He's 14, same age as me, his name's Rory."

"That's nice." Is all he says. "So where'd you learn to shoot like that?" I pick my words carefully, not wanting to give away that we hunt illegally in the woods in our district, "My sister always had a thing for bows and arrows, she taught me some, and so did Rory."

"Cool, you guys friends?" Boy he's nosy, I think to myself.

"Yep." I answer. "Ever since we were little."

"Oh that's too bad." He replies, genuine concern showing on his face.

"Prim!" I turn around to see Rory hurrying over then come to stand next to me.

"Who is this?" he asks, trying to sound casual, but I can tell he doesn't like my new friend.

"This is Caspian, district 4." I say. The stand face to face just staring at each other until I come between them.

"Okay, Caspian it was nice to meet you, let's go Rory.

"Wait!" I turn my head to see Caspian walking back to us. "Prim I'd like to invite you to join the careers. You'll last longer that way and we could all use your shooting and plant skills." I stand there shocked, wondering if I heard right.

"How did you know about my plant skills?" I ask suspiciously.

His face turns a little pink, "Well I was kind of watching you to see if you would be a good ally."

"Okay, but why me? I'm from District 12 for crying out loud!"

"I know, but who cares about that?"

"Duh, everyone!" I say a little too loudly and a few other tributes look our way.

"Could you just consider it?" He asks.

"Fine, I'll think about it!" I answer, getting a little annoyed. "Bye."

Then Rory and I make our way to the snare and trap station where only one other young girl is trying to make a knot out of some kind of rope. By looking at her uniform she is from District 9 and she looks around 12 years old, she so small! Rory and I sit down next to her and I give her a smile. She tentatively smiles back then her eyes go back to her knot.

"What's your name?" I ask cautiously.

"Carissa." She whispers without looking up.

"It's nice to meet you Carissa, I'm Prim." She looks up then and smiles again at me, then averts her eyes back down when she notices Rory sitting beside me.

"Don't worry about him, he's nice." I assure her. To prove it Rory smiles and tells her his name. After a little while she begins to warm up to us and we talk like old friends while learning new knots and how to create traps that'll leave a large human hanging upside down from a tree. Before we know it, lunchtime is called and all 46 of us file out into another large room where we will eat. There are many tables so that we all don't have to sit together; Rory, Carissa and I find a smaller table and sit down to enjoy our meal and are soon joined by Misty and Caspian.

"Mind if we join you?" He asks. I nod and he takes the empty spot beside me, and Misty across from him.

They ask us questions about our District and we do the same, by the end of the meal I don't feel unsure about Caspian anymore and I feel good about making three new friends. I know that I shouldn't be getting attached to them because we could all be dead next week but I just can't ignore them! Rory is quieter, I can tell that he doesn't exactly like Caspian but is trying to act normally. For the past ten minutes he has been chatting with Carissa, who I think has developed a little crush on my best friend; a small smile starts to form on my lips just thinking about it.

"So Prim, have you thought anymore about my proposition?" Caspian asks me a while later. I shake my head. "Sorry I haven't really had a chance to think about it, can I get back to you tomorrow." He nods. "Of course Prim, just know that I'd-we'd really like you to join us. I caught how he said that he would like me to join them, then quickly covered up. I see Misty smirking at us from across the table, she reminds me a lot of Katniss.

I begin thinking about the little hints that Cinna and Haymitch seemed to be leaving; I'll have to keep my ears open for more hints on Katniss and what is going on.

Just then a bell goes off signaling that lunch is over and all 46 of us clatter up and push our chairs back under the table. The five us stick together for the rest of the afternoon, teach each other different useful things and by the end of the day I feel like I've known them all my life. I am exhausted by the time we are released to go back to our own separate floors. About ten of us squeeze onto the elevator and soon everyone is gone leaving just Rory and I.

"Prim." He begins. "How can you be thinking about joining the careers? They are killing machines and will back stab you as soon as you aren't needed anymore!" A shocked expression covers my face when he says this.

"How can you say that?" I practically yell at him. "Maybe not all careers are like that, I like Caspian and Misty and I know that they wouldn't hurt me."

"Well I doubt Caspian would harm you, the way he couldn't take his eyes off you all day." A blush starts creeping up to my cheeks. "That's not true!" I say defensively.

"Sure. Whatever you say Prim. I still think that we should just stick together, no other allies. We don't know who we can trust!"

"Well I do! I know I can trust them!" I say.

"That's the problem Prim." He says. "What?" I ask confused.

"You always think the best about people no matter who they are, you make friends so easily and everyone loves being around you!"

"Why thanks Rore, but don't overdo yourself on all the compliments.

"I'm just stating the truth." We barely even noticed that the doors of the elevator have opened and we just walk through still arguing.

"Well you don't trust anyone!" I tell him.

"This is the hunger games, Prim! You don't trust anyone!"

"I think they are different." I huff and stalk to my door.

"I just don't want to see you hurt, I'd never forget myself if you were harmed and I could've prevented it." He whispers, then he steps closer, places a kiss on my cheek then slips into his room, closing and locking the door behind him. I tentatively touch the warm spot on my cheek where his lips were and smile, totally forgetting about our argument.

I end up falling asleep happily on my huge bed and missing dinner, which didn't really bother me, I had eaten enough to last me a whole day at lunch; and just as I'm about to drift off I decide what my answer to Caspian the next day, with one condition, hopefully he agrees.

**Aw Prim, making friends with everyone, I wonder what her decision is? Well I know what it is but you'll just have to wait and see! You think that Rory is getting jealous? He's so sweet**** Please review and tell me what you thought and what you think will happen in the next chapters or is you have any ideas!**

**I want to thank my reviewers for the last chapter:**

**~HGFan4719: Aw sorry about that**** Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for pointing the name thing out to me**** I guess you'll just have to wait and see! Hehe. Thanks for all the reviews!**

**~XliekeX: Why thank you, I thought I needed to do something different from what everyone else does**** Yeah, mystery, hehe. Thanks for all the reviews!**

**~Toadetterocks: So they are reserved whenever you can send in the names/descriptions! Thanks for reviewing!**

**~Wolfheart4: Thank you! Well you got your new chapter…Hope you liked it!**

**~Katniss72500: Well if I told you that would be ruining the surprise, but if you read canadianboy98's story (my brother) then you'll get a pretty good idea, this is like the prequel to it**** Thanks for reviewing!**

**~FearlesswithHimJC: yeah, I love writing her character, haha. Thanks!**

**~canadianboy98: Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this one too!**

**~hatgal012: Thank you very much! So glad you did**

**Thanks again you guys, don't forget to send in information for a tribute if you want! Until chapter 9!**

**~FirePearl**


	10. Can We Trust Them?

**Hey all! I'm back with another chapter! Sorry to say that I only received 5 reviews so this chapter will only be around 1900, minus the A.N's, but maybe we can get more next chapter! Thanks to: canadianboy98; XliekeX; HGFan4719; Wolfheart4; FearlesswithHimJC for your constant reviews**

**I'm thinking that I'll do one more day of training just to have prim and caspian's conversation then skip to when they show their skills to the game makers and then the interviews, so it doesn't get too boring**

**Here is chapter 9~**

"So what will your answer be when Caspian asks you later?" Rory asks me as we step into the elevator and I press the button that will take us down to the training room.

"Please Rory don't be mad, but I'm going to take him up on his offer…"

"But…"

"Let me finish!" I glare at him and he shuts his mouth.

"I said that I'll take him up on his offer only if they let you join us."

"What do you think I was just going to let you go off and join the careers and maybe never see you again?" He says.

"No." I reply quietly.

"Good." And with that we don't speak anymore until the elevator dings and the doors slide open; then we take each other's hands for support as we walk into the training room. For some reason as soon as we enter all eyes turn towards us.

"Why are they staring at us?" I whisper to Rory.

"Probably heard that the little girl from D 12 was joining the careers, or at least District 4 tributes."

"Oh." Is all I can say and start to feel my cheeks heating up. I never was one to handle attention very well. Together we head straight to the archery section and begin our practice.

**Rory's POV**

I never thought that I'd let Prim join the careers. All along I've had this plan where we don't ally or trust anyone and I keep her safe; but a conversation I had with Haymitch last night sort of changed my thinking a bit.

**Flashback… (On the roof)**

"_Heard your little girlfriend got invited to join the careers." Haymitch slurs a little in his speech and invites me to take a seat on the sofa across from him._

"_Yes she did, but she isn't my girlfriend, why does everyone keep thinking that?"_

"_Sure kid. So are you just going to let her?" He asks. I shake my head._

"_Of course not! I'm going to protect her, she's going to come out of there, alive."_

"_That's what I thought, and I have a plan."_

"_You do?"_

"_Course I do, I'm your mentor!" He says, then chuckles at his own joke._

"_Okay, what is it, I'm tired and want to go to bed."_

"_I say trust the District 4 kids."_

"_What?" I really don't believe what I'm hearing._

"_That's right, I want you both to ally with them, they'll help you."_

"_You're serious? Or are you just really drunk."_

"_Come on, you're making it quite difficult to give you advice." _

"_Fine, anything else you need to tell me."_

"_Yeah, so trust them and you'll probably live, we've got a plan." He whispers the last part even though there are no audio devices on the roof._

"_Who has a plan?" I ask, not really sure what he's talking about._

"_I can't tell you anymore, just trust anyone who says anything about Katniss and Peeta 'are' or anything in the present tense, and whatever you do, don't tell Prim anything!" I think back to when I'd heard that before, Prim had told me that she heard Haymitch and Cinna both say something about that Katniss 'is', now this, could they possibly still be alive? Instead of asking Haymitch I just nod._

"_Trust them even if you're jealous." He smirks a little._

"_Jealous, of what?" I sputter._

"_Oh don't think that no one notices how protective you are of your district tribute, just don't let it get into the way, or change the way you think of Misty and Caspian."_

"_Okay, whatever." Then I turn around and walk back down the stairs to my own room to think about all Haymitch had told me._

**End of Flashback…**

I tense a bit when I see Caspian making his way over to us and Misty trailing a little behind him. Caspian smiles when he sees Prim and she smiles brightly in return. I try what Haymitch suggested and give him a warm smile, hoping it didn't come out as a grimace.

"Hey Prim, Rory." He greets us.

"Hi Caspian!" Prim chirps happily. "So did you think about my offer from yesterday?" he asks just as Misty joins us. Prim nods, "Yes, and I'd like to join you, but only if Rory can too, I'm not going anywhere without him."

The District four tribute nods in agreement, "I was going to say that if you didn't, I think he'd be a great addition to our alliance." He smiles again, showing off his perfectly white teeth.

"Are there more tributes in this alliance?" Prim asks. Misty nods and answers, "Yes, we thought we'd invite Carissa, the little 12-year-old from district 9, also the tributes from District 1, minus the previous victors, their names are Jules and Ruby, they are 17 and 15, and also Finnick and Annie the previous victors from four, they're really nice. That's everyone so far, we might get a few more later on."

"The careers are okay with tributes from 12 joining their alliance?" I ask, a little confused.

"First of all this is our alliance." Caspian replies, "And second, this years careers are different then the typical careers."

"Oh." Is all I can say. _Could they be on this plan as well? Well I haven't heard the clue yet, so I guess I'll find out._ I think to myself.

**Prim's POV**

Rory's seems to be okay with all of this, I'm a little surprised, but glad. I catch Caspian looking at me and smile shyly; I don't know but there is something about him that makes my stomach get all tied up in knots. _Stop Prim! You like Rory, and besides, this is the hunger games, one or all of us will be dead in a week or less!_

"I guess we'll catch you both later?" I just hear Caspian say this, and Rory nods.

"Sure, see you later." Misty waves to both of us and Caspian gives me a playful wink and I can't help blushing just a little, hopefully Rory didn't notice. The District 4 tributes start walking away towards the knot making sections, I'm guessing they're pretty good at them, being from the water District and all, and Rory and I continue shooting our arrows. I think that I am getting really good at hitting the bulls-eye, and archery will probably be a good skill to show the game-makers during our one-on-one training interview thing.

"Want to try out something else for a change?" Rory asks a little while later.

"Yeah sure, what did you have in mind?" He shrugs and points to a station on the other side of the room. I squint and notice that it is sword fighting, and hand-to-hand combat. Rory grins when I see it, "Want to try it out?"

"Sure, why not?" I say lightly, and smile. Joining hands we skip like little kids across the room, getting many stares and pointed fingers, but we don't care. Thankfully only one other boy is there; just from his looks anyone can tell that he is a career. He is cutting down dummies left and right it almost hurts your eyes to look.

"Who is that?" I whisper to my friend.

"I think it's Aster from District 2." He whispers back. "He's huge!" I say, marveling at the size of the 18 year old.

"Typical career." He says like it is no big deal.

"Where should we start?" I ask.

"Grab one of those smaller swords and we'll work on holding it and how to stand and all that."

"Do you know how to fight with a sword?"

"No." he replies quietly.

"Well where is the person that is supposed to help us with this stuff?" I say, mostly to myself. Rory looks around and shrugs, "They probably keep to the stations where tributes will most likely need help. Usually only careers go to these stations and they've been training all their lives."

"Yeah, I guess so." I say. "But how are we supposed to learn then?"

"I don't know, just pick a sword and we'll start from there."

I do as he says find a smallish sword; thankfully it is quite dull otherwise I'd probably cut myself or something stupid like that. I don't see many of the old victors here in training; they either skip or just sit in a corner chatting with old friends. I did see Finnick helping Annie with the ropes and Gloss and his sister Cashmere, from district 1 throwing spears, the rest of the victors are older and just sit around or I just don't recognize who they are.

"Earth to Prim! You with me?" I blink rapidly to find Rory waving his hand playfully in front of my face.

"Sorry, I got side-tracked." I reply and point my sword at him. He jumps back grinning and pretends to swipe at me with his own slightly longer sword.

"You've never held a sword in your life before have you?" Rory and I swing around and come face to face with the giant from 2 and his district partner who is probably a little younger than me. She has straight black hair that comes to her butt, and she is pretty muscular for her tender age; she is even taller than me, but not quite as tall as Rory. Her district partner is probably at least 6 feet tall and has shaggy auburn hair, his biceps are huge and his large hand could probably wrap around my tiny waist. In other words, he scares me.

"No, we haven't, but there wasn't anyone to help us out." Rory answers for both of us.

"Need some help?" the boy asks. I nod slowly, not sure if I want to trust this guy yet.

"You're Katniss's little sister aren't you?" I nod again.

"You don't look much like her, she is pretty cool, she's amazing at archery!" He gives me a strange but knowing look and then all of a sudden it's gone and he is showing me how to stand properly and hold the sword right and everything. For some reason Rory seems really comfortable around him and Rosa his partner all of a sudden, weird.

This years games are definitely different the other years, the tributes all act differently, they aren't all blood thirsty and mean. It seems to me that the tributes from the same districts are kind of sticking together and are actually nice to each other, I'll never cease being surprised at all of this.

"By the way I'm Aster." He says, interrupting himself while explaining things to me.

"I'm Prim, this is Rory." I introduce the two of us. "Nice to meet you." He replies with a crooked smile then gets back to helping me. By the end of our short lesson I know how to stand, how to hold the sword and even a few blocking moves.  
Aster is surprisingly patient with us, definitely not a normal career. When he's finished with me he moves on to Rory and I practice with Rosa. She is a very skilled fighter for her age, and I like her already. We go at each other with our small swords for almost an hour until we are all too tired to even stand up. Thankfully that is just when the bell sounds for lunch.

The rest of the training day is pretty eventful, we make even more friends and Aster and Rosa are added to our alliance. Even though this is the hunger games, I've never made so many friends in such a short time, it breaks my heart to know that we could all be dead in a matter of days.

**There it is folks, Prim is making more friends. What do you think of Aster and Rosa? Can we trust them? I guess you'll find out! Sorry for any mistakes! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I hope we can get more reviews because I like writing longer chapters!**

**Until next time…**

**~FirePearl**


	11. The Roof

_**Hello! I'm back with another chapter! Sorry it's been a few days but I was gone over the weekend and this week I've been really busy and haven't had time to write! **____** Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, so glad you all are enjoying the story because I am really enjoying writing it! I don't have anymore to say so here is the chapter **___

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games or the main characters; although most of the tributes are made up from the imaginations of my readers and me**___

_**Chapter 11, Prim's POV…**_

The last day of training went surprisingly well; we now have a considerably large alliance for which I am grateful, the more friends the better. Rory still doesn't seem too acceptant yet but I can tell that he is trying.

I have to say that my favorite tribute out of everyone in our alliance is Sage. She is 13 and from District 11, she's small like me with light brown skin and long, wavy, dark hair, like a little sister I never had. Her district partner, Thrasher is 16 and if it wasn't for the color of his skin you'd think he is career with his stalky build and muscles. Apparently he is here in the games because he was made to, something about getting in trouble with Thresh, who was in Katniss's games, and his family. Maybe he'll tell us more about himself later on.

We are now 14 in this alliance; Caspian was supposed to talk to Johanna Mason yesterday but I haven't heard anything yet, it will probably be good to have previous victors in our alliance. I think Rosa, Carissa, Sage and I could have all been great friends back in district 12, it really sucks that we have to go into this together because there is no way that I'll be able to kill them, or anyone else for that matter.

These are the thoughts that course through my mind as I lay in bed just waiting for Effie to come banging on my door, not wanting to get up and get dressed. All the tributes get the morning to ourselves then right after lunch we have our personal time to show the game-makers our skills, I'm not exactly looking forward to that. Tomorrow evening are the interviews and all day will be spent preparing us for that, then the next day the games begin. I'm starting to get really nervous; I didn't get much sleep last night, too many nightmares.

I wonder how Rory is coping at night, if he has nightmares like me. We haven't really had a chance to talk just the two of us recently so I don't really know. Just then someone knocks on my door then opens it. Fully expecting it to be Effie I start climbing out of bed but when I see that it is Rory I quickly pull the quilt back over me.

He looks like he didn't sleep at all last night, his hair is a mess, he has dark circles under his eyes and his eyes are half closed as he stumbles over to me.

"Rory what happened?" I ask concerned.

"Couldn't sleep." He mumbles and hops on to the bed next to me.

"Nightmares?" He just nods and I put an arm around his broad shoulders.

"I'm sorry Rory, I get them too, they get worse the closer we get to the arena."

"They killed Posy." He says suddenly, staring off into the room.

"Who did?"

"The capitol, the took her and I watched them torture her! I can't get her innocent screams out of my head."

"I'm sorry." I whisper and rest my head on his shoulder, rubbing circles all over on his back.

Usually Rory is the one that tries to be strong and comfort me, I don't see him like this very often. He puts his head in his hands, trying to steady his breathing while I just rub his back soothingly. A few minutes later he sits back up and gives me a small smile, "Thanks, I needed that." I shrug, "Hey what are friends for?" He laughs and just then my door is swung open and Effie, in a lime green shimmery dress and 8" heels saunters in, screeching all the while.

"You forgot to lock the door behind you." I whisper in his ear while trying to hold in my laughter.

"It's time to get up, it's going to…"

"Be a big, big day, yes we know Effie." I say interrupting her.

"Well then." She huffs. "Get changed and be down for breakfast in ten minutes." She gives us each a hilarious glare then stomps off, slamming the door behind her.

"I think you'd better go." I tell Rory. He grins and hops off the bed.

"See you at breakfast."

"Yeah, see you then." I reply, heading towards the bathroom for a quick shower. In five minutes I'm out again this time smelling like lemons. I put on a pair of comfortable black pants and a purple t-shirt, not bothering to dress up since I'll just have to change again this afternoon for showing the game-makers our skills. After braiding my hair and tying it with a purple hair elastic I walk out and head to our floor's dining room.

Surprisingly enough I am the first one to arrive at the table. Only the serving avox standing in the corner is here. I shrug and sit down at the long dining table and begin filling the china plate in front of me high with the capitol delicacies.

I take two steaming rolls, a fried egg, a few slices of bacon, and after that a bowl of yoghurt and fruit; a mug of hot chocolate is already in my spot and a glass of orange juice next to it. I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat all of this but I am sure going to try, Haymitch says that we need to put a few extra pounds, it'll help us when we're in the arena and don't have enough food.

I know how it is to be without food; I've been through that many times even though Katniss tried her best to keep mother and I fed with the animals she shot with her bow in the woods with Gale.

Just as I'm finishing off my hot chocolate and wipe my mouth off on the soft napkin next to my plate Haymitch and Rory walk in. Rory gives me a small smile and takes the chair beside me, Haymitch just grunts and falls in the chair at the head of the table, taking a long swig of some kind of dark liquid in a glass bottle that stinks really bad. He sets it down rather loudly as says, "So have you two figured out what you'll be showing the game-makers this afternoon?"

"Do you have any advice to give us?" I ask.

Haymitch snorts, "Just give it all you've got, you really need sponsors for the arena and if you get a good score you'll probably get a lot."

I nod, "Well then I guess I'll shoot some arrows since I've gotten pretty good at that and yesterday and the day before Aster and Rosa taught be how to throw a spear and I'm not too bad at it. I am best at identifying leaves and plants for medicine and food though, so even if it isn't very impressive to the game-makers I'm sure the knowledge will be helpful in the arena.

Haymitch sort of smiles, "You're a smart girl, what about you?" He directs his question at Rory who is currently stuffing his face with food like always. He finishes chewing then swallows and speaks, "Well Prim and I know how to do pretty much the same things although I might try some of the ropes and knots and maybe some climbing as well."

Haymitch snorts, I don't know if it was in amusement, happiness or just plain annoyance, "I can't believe I got a pair of fighters two years in a row!" Neither of us say anything, I just sit with my hands folded under the table and Rory picks up his fork and resumes his eating. Haymitch keeps his mouth shut the rest of the meal and as soon as Rory is finishing his last bite I am already pushing my chair back and grabbing his arm. I practically drag him back to my room, and after locking my door we sit on the bed facing each other.

"Okay." I say placing my chin on my knees. "Spill it." Rory looks at me confused. "What are you talking about Prim?"

"Why were you and Haymitch late for breakfast and then the two of you came in together not saying anything."

"It's nothing, really." He says hurriedly. "Haymitch just wanted to talk to me about my skills and stuff." I look at him skeptically.

"Why before breakfast though? Isn't that what we're doing with him before lunch?"

"He just needed to talk to me privately that's all."

"I am having a hard time believing you Rory, you are a very bad liar. Remember that time when…"

"Yes! Yes I remember, no need to bring that up again." I smirk at him but decide to drop it, for now. I'll find out sooner or later.

"So is that the only reason you dragged me in here so suddenly?" he asks. I nod. "So how long do we have until the thing with the game-makers this afternoon?"

Rory glances at his watch, "About 4 hours, it starts at 2pm and will probably last until supper or later by the time they go through everyone."

"Yeah I guess."

"Oh, I heard that only the 24 of us that aren't previous victors are going to get a score this year since everyone knows what they can do and how could they are." He tells me.

"Interesting, I guess it's better that way anyways, it won't take as long then."

"Yeah, so what do you want to do until we have to get ready?" Rory asks.

I ponder the question for a moment before getting an idea, "I heard Haymitch say something about a roof above us that we can go to where no on will hear or bother us! And you can see all of the capitol below us!"

"Sure let's go." He says without hesitation. We both hop off of the bed and I unlock the door. Then linking hands we walk to the elevator that will take us to the roof.

"Which one of these buttons do we push?" I ask once we're inside, motioning to the wall of flashing buttons.

"How about this one." He puts his finger on a round button with a small _'R'_ on it. "Sure try it." He does and we immediately begin to rise very quickly. I grab onto the metal bar that is on three of the walls and hold on for dear life.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to these capitol elevators." I say after we land and the doors slide open.

"Wow." Is all we can say as we step off onto the roof. It is a flat roof with a metal railing along the edge; a small flower garden is in one corner with a bench to sit on. Without even speaking the two of us hurry over to the railing and look over; it's really an amazing view, and if we were in the capitol for a different reason than we are now, then I would have to say that it is quite breathtaking, especially from up here.

"Pretty amazing isn't it?" Rory voices my current thoughts.

"It sure is." I let out a contented sigh and continue gazing out over the city.

"What do they do if a tribute wants to jump off of here and kill himself before the games?" He asks a few minutes later.

"I don't know." I answer. A butterfly flits in front of me and I reach out my hand to touch it then pull back very quickly.

"It's like those force-fields you read about or see on TV!" I gasp and cradle my arm that had just been zapped.

"I guess that answers the question though." Rory says. "Anyone who tried to jump of would be electrocuted and thrown back. How is your hand?"

"I'll be fine." I say and wiggle my fingers to prove to him that I'm okay.

We walk over to the bench and sit down, enjoying the sweet fragrance of the different species of flowers around us, just happy that we are alive right now and have each other to lean on.

"Are you scared?" I ask quietly a little while later.

"I get more scared every day that the games get closer." Rory replies.

"Me too."

"I'm afraid I'll have to watch you die, I'm afraid that we'll never get to see our families again. We'll never get to grow up and get married and have a family one day like everyone else, all because of our idiot of a president."

"I know." I say and give him a hug. We hold each other for I don't know how long, just feeling one another's pain and trying to comfort the other as best we can, but we both know that we can't stay up here forever and eventually get up.

"We'd better go before people start to wonder where we are." I say. Rory nods and we walk together back over to the elevator, pressing the number 12 and descending back to our own floor.

The next few hours go by rather quickly and as soon as we finish lunch we are ushered to our rooms to change into our training uniforms then taken down to where our interviews with the game-makers will be.

When we get there everyone one else is already in his or her seats according to his or her district. I take my seat next to Thrasher who is already seated beside Sage and then Rory takes my other side. One by one the names and district numbers are called to walk into the large room that is hidden from the rest of us. A few of them are nervous like Carissa and Rosa but most of the careers are just raring to go and show of their many skills, mostly with weapons.

Before I know it Sage is being called and she stands up shakily.

"You'll do fine!" I call to her. She gives me a small smile then lifts up her head and walks confidently inside. About ten minutes later Thrasher is called then it's me. Rory gives my hand a quick squeeze, "You're going to do great."

"I'm going to try." I stand up and walk quickly over to the door, with one last look at my best friend I push open the door.

"Primrose Everdeen, District 12." I say as loudly as I can. A few of the game-makers look my way and nod, motioning me to begin. I go first to the plants section where I identify plants and herbs for different purposes, only messing up once. I feel pretty proud of myself afterwards and head over to the archery station next. By now only one out of about 12 game-makers is paying me any attention so I grab a bow and string the arrow. After aiming carefully I let go and hit the bulls-eye. I look behind me to find all eyes turned in my direction now so I loose another arrow and another until all 12 are in the center of the red circle.

"Thank you Katniss for teaching me how to shoot a bow." I whisper to myself, then put the bow away. I only have a few minutes left so I go over to the spears next and throw a few. It's not perfect but I do pretty well after only having a couple days practice, Aster was a good teacher. Once I'm finished I glance behind me waiting to be dismissed. The head game-maker, I think his name his Plutarch Heavensbee gives me a smile and says, "Just like your sister, very well done Primrose. You are dismissed." I bow slightly then walk out, giving Rory an encouraging smile as he gets up and walks in.

I sit down and wait for him to finish and think about the new game maker. I don't know if it is normal for them to congratulate the tributes or talk about their siblings that died in the games, but I have a feeling that I can trust him.

_**Yay another chapter done! What did you all think? I hope you liked it! So I think the next chapter will be the interviews and last day before the arena, and then the games begin! I can't believe how quickly this is all coming together!**_

_**Thanks again to all of you wonderful reviewers, I love receiving every singe review **___

_**Until next time!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	12. Three Hours With Effie Is too Much!

_**Merry Christmas Everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and got some cool stuff! I got Hunger Games earrings and iPod case, so cool!**_

_**Sorry I haven't updated in days but Christmas is a busy time of year and I just haven't had time **____** Thanks so much for all the sweet and encouraging reviews, there weren't that many so this will be a shorter chapter but I hope you enjoy it!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, it belongs to Suzanne Collins.**_

_**Chapter 12 Rory's POV…**_

Haymitch got us up very early this morning to watch the showing of our scores before we have our separate time with him and Effie. I didn't get very much sleep last night so I practically walk like a zombie to the sitting area where Haymitch and Effie are already waiting for us, Prim still has to make an appearance.

A few minutes later she walks in, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and still wearing her pajamas. She plops down beside me just as the TV turns on the reveal Caesar Flickerman holding a sheet of paper. He greets everyone then gets right down to business.

All of the careers get pretty high scores ranging from 9 to 11. Misty and Caspian each get a 10, Rosa gets a surprising 9 and her partner also gets a 10. The rest of the scores are pretty normal but Carissa gets a 7 and I smile. Thrasher gets a 10 like the careers which is very good for someone from District 11 and little Sage gets an 8. We all clap for our allies and then all too soon my score is being shown.

"Rory Hawthorne with an amazing score of 9!" We clap again and Haymitch smacks me on the back and Prim give me a hug then sits back down with her hands clasped tightly together, awaiting her score.

"And now for Primrose Everdeen, District 12 with a score of 9." She let out a squeal of delight and I pick her up and swing her around until we're both too dizzy to stand straight. Effie and Haymitch congratulate us then let us go back to our rooms for half an hour to get ready for breakfast then we have the rest of the morning with the two of them. I walk Prim back to her room, "See you at breakfast." She says, still grinning, then closes her door behind her.

**A few hours later…**

"No not like that! The right leg has to be loosely resting on your left knee not the other way around! And relax would yeah you are like working with a metal statue!" This is what I have had to deal with for the past two and a half hours. Effie is trying to tell me how to sit and how to speak and pretty much everything she deems important to know that I do not know for the interviews tonight. You are literally walking on eggshells around her, just waiting for her to crack, I don't think I've been careful enough because she's been cracking and blowing up a lot lately.

"Okay." She takes a deep breath and tries calming her voice. "Let's try this again, you've almost got it down." When I am finished here with Effie I still have to go to Haymitch and talk about whatever, I wonder how he and Prim are getting along right now. I feel bad for her because when I get to go to Haymitch she gets Effie and I am pretty sure that anything is better than being in the same room with Effie Trinket for three hours straight having her coach you on proper etiquette.

I finally sit to her satisfaction and she dismisses me to Haymitch. As I am leaving the room, Prim is just exiting the room across from us and her face is red and there are tearstains on her cheeks. I walk up to her and put my arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, are you okay?" She bobs her head up and down but doesn't make eye contact with me.

"Are you sure?" I ask. She starts nodding again but then changes and shakes her head, a few tears escape her tightly shut eyes and she sniffles a bit.  
"I just c-can't do a-anything right!" She stutters out.

"Haymitch?" She nods.

"Well I hope your time with Effie goes better than mine did." I say, trying to lighten the moment but fail miserably. She just starts crying into my shoulder and I awkwardly rub her back, at a loss at how to comfort her.

"You want to talk about it?" I whisper and few moments later.

She takes a deep breath, "It's just that Haymitch has been trying to help me figure out what I am going to be for my interview but I'm not funny or blood thirsty or anything that he tried!" I squeeze her tighter and choose my next words carefully.

"Prim, everyone loves you, if you just act yourself you'll have absolutely no problem, they'll all fall instantly in love with you."

She lifts her head and looks at me, "You really think so?" I smile and give her a hug.

"I know so, know we'd better get to our places before Effie starts screaming at us to hurry up." Prim laughs halfheartedly but lets go of me.

"Thanks Rory, you're a great friend."

"Good luck with Effie." I reply and she grins. We then head our separate ways to finish the dreaded preparations for the interviews tonight; I just hope my talk with Haymitch goes better than my 3 hours with Effie.

I open the door to find Haymitch lounging on a couch that looks much more comfortable than the high backed chair I had been sitting in.

"Come on kid, have a seat." I fall back onto the farthest end of the leather couch and stretch my legs on to the coffee table mimicking my mentor all the while. He has a bottle and a small glass cup that he keeps refilling, no surprise there.

"So, do you know what your approach during the interviews tonight will be?" He asks, taking a swig of his smelly drink. I shrug, "I'm not sure, have any ideas?"

"Well I was thinking about portraying you two as the best friends that were chosen to fight in the same games since you've both made it very clear that there is no romance going on between the two of you."

"Right." I say nodding my head in agreement.

"Your friend I think would just do good if she just acted herself, she's a pretty likeable person."

"Then why didn't you tell her that?" I yell, standing up. Haymitch just looks at me, a little stunned.

"Tell her what boy?"

"That she should just be herself in the interviews! She was in here for almost three hours then came out crying because you weren't satisfied with anything she did!" I'm still yelling at this point.

"I'll talk to her later." He mutters.

"You'd better, because nobody hurts Prim, she shouldn't even be here in the first place." I end in a much quieter tone.

He just takes another gulp of the dark liquid in his hand and clears his throat a few times.

"So you are going to be the best friend that will do anything to protect the girl and all that, make sure that you express how excited you are to be in the capitol and how sure you are that either you or your district tribute will win and all that junk that the capitol freaks will just eat up. Lather it on thick kid and you should do well."

We sit in silence for the next few minutes while I think about everything he just told me. It should be pretty easy to be Prim's best friend and want to protect her because all that is true, but the part where I have to butter up the capitol, the place and people I hate the most, it make me sick just thinking about it! Gale hated them with every fiber of his being and even more when Katniss and Peeta died, if that is even possible. Sometimes he would just freak out when we would see something on the TV or hear about something they or the President did, I think some of his hate rubbed off onto me.

The talk with Haymitch only takes about an hour while I just practice speaking and he asks me the kinds of questions that Caesar Flickerman will probably ask and by the end I am feeling quite sure of myself. He releases me to go get changed for lunch which will be in an hour and I practically run all the way back to my room. I do stop by Prim's room but no one comes to the door so I just assume that she is still with Effie, hopefully it's going well.

Instead of showering and getting changed to eat, I go straight to my huge bed and fall onto the soft comforter and almost immediately drift off to sleep.

I awake from the sound of someone pounding on my door and yelling for me to get up. I quickly glance at the clock and inwardly scold myself for sleeping so long. If I don't want to miss lunch I'd better hurry because I have only five minutes to get changed and get to the dining room. Lunch is later today because we were with our mentors all morning. After we eat we will be sent to our stylists to be prepped for our interviews tonight, oh joy.

The banging on my door suddenly ceases and the door swings open revealing a very girly looking Prim.

"Get up lazy bone unless you want to go hungry." Groaning I swing my legs over the bed and stumble over to the closet, running my hand through my messy hair at the same time. Prim smirks at me and closes the door again, leaving me alone to get changed and ready for the next meal in five minutes. I grab the first thing I can get my hands on in the closet and put it on, not worrying about how fancy it is because we're just eating, I'll have to spend the next few hours getting prepped which I am not to excited about.

When I exit my bedroom I am wearing a dark green polo shirt and a pair of dark jeans, good enough for now. Not surprisingly I am the last one out of the four of us to come to the table.

"Take you this long to get your hair just so?" Haymitch jokes. I just ignore him and take my seat next to Prim.

"He was sleeping." She informs him for me. He just grumbles something and continues eating whatever is on his plate. Prim passes me a platter of different kinds of meat so I heap some of that onto my large plate, then I drop a scoop of potatoes next to the meat and pour on some gravy. It is pretty quiet, with only the sounds of forks scraping plates, until I decide to ask Prim how her day went.

"How was your time with Effie?"

"Oh awful!" She exclaims. "I am never wearing heels again! I think my feet will be forever scarred!" I chuckle and glance over at Effie.

"It is necessary for all young ladies to learn how to walk properly with heels dear." Prim just groans and digs into the red jello on her plate.

The next few minutes the two of us are hurried to finish our food and get to our stylists. I grab Prim's hand and together we hurry down the hallway straight to our torture room, or at least that is what I called being poked and picked and probed like a chicken. Soon we come to the rooms across from each other where we have to part ways.

"Have fun!" Prim says sarcastically.

"See you soon." I reply, giving her a quick hug, and with that we both enter the rooms and shut the doors behind us.

I am almost immediately pounced on by my prep team; they all chatter at the same time about most everything but I just tune them out. Two of them drag me to a tub filled with warm sudsy water while another one strips me down of all of my clothes. I am helped into the bathtub and sink into the comforting water. After about 10 seconds of enjoyment part of my team begins washing me, another puts all this gunk into my hair and still another pulls my hands out of the water and starts filing my nails. After almost an hour they finally let me out of the tub and place a soft housecoat on my shoulders. Someone with gold spiked up hair, I'm not sure whether it is a male or female they all look the same to me, paints this clear stuff onto my nails and I feel like a little girl getting my nails painted, but at least it isn't a color. Once I am deemed clean and ready they call in Portia who will dress me. My prep team leaves and I sit down in a chair, relieved to see them go.

Portia enters a few moments later, a sympathetic smile on her face.

"Ready?" She asks quietly. I shrug, "As ready as I'll ever be I guess."

"Don't worry, you'll do great." She assures me. I give her a halfhearted smile, then my gaze traces over to the black bag that my stylist has draped over one arm.

"Let's get you dressed shall we?"

I let my housecoat fall to the floor and put on the clothes for tonight which consist of a pair of black dress pants, and a red dress shirt, no jackets; she then hands me a pair of shiny, black shoes and I put them on as well. I am soon dressed and walk across the room to examine myself in the floor length mirror.

"It's perfect, thanks Portia." I give her a hug and she pats my back. "Go knock 'em dead." I nod and step out of the door just as the door across from me opens as well and out steps the most beautiful girl I've seen in my life. I feel as though my jaw has dropped to the floor as I take her in. Prim's hair is piled on top of her head with small golden ringlets falling around her shining face. Her dress matches my red shirt; it is knee length with spaghetti straps and a black band around her waist and tiny sequence around the bust area. She is wearing small black heels that are not too tall, thankfully. Her face lights up when she sees me and takes to steps straight into my open arms. I hug her and whisper, "You look amazing," into her ear. When we pull apart her face his slightly flushed, from the compliment or the make-up I'm not sure.

Portia and Cinna lead us to the elevator that takes us down to the main floor where we get into the car that is waiting for us to take us to another building where the interviews will be held. Neither Prim nor I have ever ridden in a car before and I have to say that the short ride is quite exhilarating.

We are taken to the to a large room where all of the other tributes are waiting to be called up onto the stage. Prim and I sit down side by side and wait for our names to be called.

_**So I decided to have the interviews in the next chapter since this one was already getting kind of long for a short chapter **____** I hope you liked it! Please don't forget to leave a review before you go, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my wonderful readers!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	13. It was Always You

_**Hi guys! Yay I got up another chapter before New Years! Hope you all are enjoying your Christmas holidays, I sure am! We only got 7 reviews for the last chapter which usually calls for a 1500-1800 word chapter but I knew how I wanted to end this and it got a little longer than expected, you are welcome!**_

_**But thank you to: aly-hungergames, Wolfheart4, Katniss72500, sweetStarre123, HGFan4719, FearlesswithHimJC, and XliekeX for reviewing the last chapter, your reviews were greatly appreciated!**_

_**Enjoy this chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Prim's Point of View…**_

"Primrose Everdeen!" It takes me a few seconds to comprehend the name but then all eyes turn to me and Rory gives me a smile and an encouraging push towards the curtain where Caesar Flickerman is waiting for me. I swallow down my fear and put on my happy face and fake smile that all the capitol freaks love. I don't think that it ever occurs to them that the tributes could possibly be faking all their love for the capitol; they just believe whatever they're told, almost like animals.

Forcing my feet to walk I gently hold the side of my dress like Effie taught me so that I won't trip on stage. One foot in front of the other and a few seconds later I am bombarded with a bright light and the screams of thousands of colorful capitol freaks calling out my name like I'm some sort of famous person or celebrity.

"Welcome Primrose!" Caesar's voice booms, he extends his hand and I take it. I am led to two matching rounded chairs and sit down and cross my ankles and fold my hands on my lap just like I was told, being careful all the while to not ruffle my dress.

"Please, call me Prim." My voice comes out more like a squeak and the crowd 'awes', I just really want to get this over with.

"How has your time in the capitol treated you Prim?" Caesar asks kindly. I twist my hands together, trying to calm my nervousness.

"It's amazing, I've never seen anything so grand." I get out with a little more confidence than before. Once again the crowd claps and screams my name, I think I even see a few of them faint, pathetic. How they can love this so much is totally beyond my comprehension, the citizens of the capitol have been told exactly what to do and who to be their entire lives, it's kind of sad actually.

"It is isn't it?" Caesar agrees. Last year he was wearing all blue when he interviewed Katniss and Peeta, blue powdered hair, eyebrows and even lipstick, this year his color is blood red, it matches my dress almost perfectly. It's pretty gross to me though because it looks like he just dumped blood all over his head.

"What about your sister, Katniss, who was in last years games. I'm guessing that you two were pretty close since she volunteered for you." Thankfully Haymitch prepared me for this so I have an answer ready.

"Yes, we were very close, she was a great sister and I miss her very much." Looking out into the crowd, most of the people have take out their handkerchiefs and are dabbing the edges of their colored eyes.

"I am sorry for your loss." Caesar says sympathetically.

"Thank you." I reply quietly.

"Now Prim, how old are you?" He asks, changing the subject for which I am relieved, afraid that I would break down in front of everyone if he didn't start talking about something else. "I am fourteen and a half. I turn fifteen in a few months."

"Well, you are a very beautiful young lady, isn't she folks?" The crowd roars in agreement and I'm sure my face is as red as the apple I ate this morning.

"Thank you sir, you are very kind."

"And polite too!" Caesar gushes and the crowd screams my name some more.

"We only have about a minute left so I have one more question for you Prim." I have been waiting for him to bring this up, right now I am very grateful to Haymitch who prepared me for most of these questions.

"Tell me, do you have any special young man waiting for your return back home?" I'm surprised he didn't come right out and ask me what my relationship status with Rory is, but I can play along.

"No Caesar I don't, I am only fourteen after all."

"Oh but a pretty girl like you, I find it hard to believe that you haven't had just a few boys fall for you."

"Sorry, but no, not yet."

"Well what about your District partner? Rory isn't it." I nod, well he finally asked and I am ready to answer.

"Rory is my best friend and has been since we were very little."

"That's hard to believe, you being so young and beautiful, and I have to say that your friend is quite the looker as well."

"I am sorry if you all expected another 'star-crossed lovers' from District 12 again this year but Rory and I are just friends, that's all."

"And that is the end of our interview, Ladies and Gentlemen, Primrose Everdeen!" Once again the crowds scream and throw flowers and hankies, and blow kisses.

"Thank you." I say politely and curtsey like I practiced all morning, then walk back off the stage right into Haymitch and Effie. Effie immediately starts complimenting me on my interview and how well I did and how much everyone loved me, then she leaves and I am left alone with Haymitch.

"You did good sweetheart, they won't forget you for a long time now." I smile and sit down in a seat next to him just as Rory's name is called. He walks confidently onto the stage, a grin adorning his handsome face. I think almost half of the capitol girls faint just from seeing him and I chuckle to myself.

"Good Evening Caesar, it's great to be here." He says, still smiling.

"It's great to see you too Rory." They both sit down and Rory places one of his legs to rest on his other knee in a casual position and I almost blush in pride. _He's my best friend. _They go through most of the same questions that I was asked but then my ears perk up when Caesarasks _the _question.

"So Rory, handsome young man like you must have girls swooning for you all the time, huh?" Rory chuckles and shakes his head, "Sadly not really Caesar, they mostly go for my older brother. We look almost identical but apparently he has something that I don't."

"Well, what about you, do you have a special girl back home that you're going to try and come back to?"

"Well there is a special from back home but I am pretty sure that she doesn't think of me in _that _way." My breath hitches in my throat. _Rory never told me about any other girls! _

"Oh I'm sorry about that son, well I'm sure she'll notice you more when you come back as a victor." Rory just shrugs, not answering.

"And what about your district partner, the young, blond beauty." She says that you too are just friends, is that true for you?"

"Yes, Prim and I are best friends, but that's it." If I didn't know any better I would say that his voice became very strained when he spoke about me and us being best friends, it's like he didn't want to say it, does he maybe not think of me as his best friend anymore?

"I'm sure you'll be protecting each other in the arena then?"

"With everything I've got, as long as I can I'll make sure nothing happens to her."

"Aw how sweet. Well this ends our time with Rory Hawthorne, District 12!" Everyone claps loudly and Rory smiles, then winks at the crowd and waves to them all before climbing off the stage. He spots us a few seconds later and immediately begins striding over.

"Great job kid." Haymitch congratulates him. "I think you won them over." Rory gives a nervous laugh.

"You did great Rory." I say and give him a hug; he automatically puts his arms around me and hugs me tightly in return. I decide to wait to ask him about the _other girl_ later and just enjoy the moment. We pull apart at the sound of Haymitch clearing his throat loudly.

"What?" Rory asks, a little annoyed.

"Save that for somewhere else." He huffs and turns away.

"Whatever." I say, trying to hide my smile.

"Ready to go back upstairs?" Rory asks and I nod. We take the other's hand and make our way outside to where a row of cars is waiting to take the tributes back to our temporary homes. Rory leads us to the closest one and opens the door for me before sliding in beside me. I look up in surprise when I realize who I am sitting next to.

"Hey Prim, pleasure meeting you here."

"Hi Caspian." I say with a smile.

"I'm here too!" I hear Misty say from the other side of Caspian's large form.

"Hey there Misty."

"Great job on your interview by the way, both of you." Caspian says and for a moment I'm glad that it is quite dark in the car because I'm pretty sure that my cheeks are red, or at least they feel like they are on fire.

"Thanks, you guys did great too!" I say.

"So do you two have any plans for the last night somewhat of freedom?" Caspian asks.

"I don't think so." I reply. "Rory and I were just going back up to our floor to eat and then just hang out."

"Oh, well we were going to have a little party, you guys can come if you want." Misty says.

I turn to Rory and he just shrugs.

"Thanks for the invitation but I think we'll just hang out tonight."

"No problem." She replies sweetly.

"Well I guess we'll see you tomorrow, try and stay away from the fighting and we'll find you afterwards okay Prim?" Caspian tells me, just as the car stops and we climb out.

"Okay, I will." I assure him. The four of us walk through the lobby to the elevator and push the _4 _and _12_ buttons. At floor _3_ we start to say our good byes. I give Misty a hug and try not to cry.

"Don't worry Prim, we're going to be fine." I nod, not trusting myself to speak. Rory shakes Caspian's hand and they wish each other luck, then Misty goes over to hug Rory and Caspian comes to stand in front of me.

"It was really nice meeting you Prim, stay safe and I'll see you tomorrow." He leans down to my level and plants a warm kiss on my cheek then walks out of the open doors of his floor without looking back.

I watch the doors close behind them then look over at Rory. He looks mad although I don't know why he would be, it was just a little friendly kiss on the cheek for goodness sakes!

"Who is the girl that you talked about in you interview?" I ask a few seconds later.

"No one." He mutters.

"Well of course she's someone if you feel that way about her. Why haven't you told me anything about her? We tell each other everything!"

"It doesn't matter now Prim."

"Of course it matters Rory!" I say but before either of us can say anything else the elevator doors slide open and we step off onto our own floor.

"Roof?" Rory says and I nod. In just a few short minutes we are both standing side by side on the roof looking over at the capitol square.

"I can't believe the games start tomorrow." I whisper.

"Please Prim, let's not talk about that right now."

"Okay Rory." I lean my head on his shoulder and his arm snakes around my waist protectively. We stay in that position for a while without saying anything.

But all good things eventually come to an end and we pull apart a while later.

"It's getting late." Rory says. "We should get some sleep so we are well rested tomorrow."

"Okay." I say, and we are just about to start walking back to the door when the tears start to fall and I throw my arms around Rory's neck and sob into his chest. He once again put his arms around my back, and whispers soothing words into my ear.

"I don't want to die!" I whimper when all my tears are spent.

"I won't let you die Prim, don't worry." He assures me.

"But I would die if something happened to you!"

"Prim, just don't think about it."

"I can't."

"You have to try."

"Okay." I say, taking a deep breath and lifting my head. "I'll try."

"That's my girl."

I smile when he says this and hug him tighter, never wanting to let him go. Rory then pulls slightly away from me and I wait for him to say that we need to get to bed, but he doesn't. Instead he leans down, his face getting closer to mine and before I know what's happening his lips are on mine and then all of these thoughts are racing through my mind,_ Rory, my best friend is kissing me, this is my first kiss, how will I ever let him go now?_ Then just as quickly as it happened its over and Rory is looking into my eyes,

"There was never another girl Prim, It was always you." Then he's gone and I am alone with my thoughts on the roof.

_**Surprise Surprise! Tell me are you surprised? Isn't Rory just the sweetest ever!? Well I hope you all liked it! Next chapter is the start of the games, ah I can't believe it's here already! Well the next chapter should be up sometime soon after new years.**_

_**Happy New Years everyone!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	14. GoodByes

_**I'm here with a new chapter! Yay! And we got 10 reviews so this will be a longer chapter, yay again! Thank you so much for everyone who reviewed, I know that this story is Friendship/Adventure but they wouldn't let me add romance in there so it's kind of all three **____** It's kind of hard for me to write something without even a least bit of romance, lol.**_

_**So I know a lot of you are anxious for Katniss/Peeta's appearance but don't worry it won't be too long but it's not that soon either, just hang in there and I'll try to make the chapters exciting! I can't believe the games are starting at the end of this chapter already, wow. **_

_**Okay that's all for now, enjoy the chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games and I only own the characters that I made up, others are made up by my wonderful readers **___

_**Chapter 14…**_

I end up staying on the roof for while longer after Rory leaves, just thinking about the, well everything. I still can't believe that this might very well be my last night to sleep in a real bed, or to breathe the night air without always having to watch my back and that my first kiss just might have been my last too.

My thoughts are all jumbled together in my head, my mind just can't seem to comprehend that my best friend kissed me! For the past two years I always assumed that we would never be more than friends, I mean I'm still young so it didn't really bother me until we were both reaped. I guess I thought that I'd never have the chance to tell Rory how I feel, and know he's gone and kissed me and left before I could tell him that the feeling is mutual.

Sighing I exit the roof and begin walking back to my own room, but instead of stopping at me door I end up at Rory's. I decide that he deserves the truth and I'm pretty sure we won't have any time alone tomorrow to talk, so it's now or never.

Knocking quietly on the door I wait for an answer, or any sign that he is awake, I almost jump in surprise when the door is opened almost immediately.

"Oh, hi Prim." Rory whispers. "Did you need something?" He scratches the back of his neck and runs his fingers through his hair, waiting for an answer.

"Uh, yeah, I was wondering if maybe we could talk." I say, looking down at my feet.

"Sure, come on in. I wasn't sleeping anyways." I give him a small smile and walk past him and sit on the spacious bed. Rory closes and locks the door then comes to sit in front of me so we are face to face. Bringing my knees up to my chest I wrap my arms around my legs and take a deep breath.

"I-I wanted to talk to you a-about earlier." I get out then end up blushing and look down at my knees, hoping that it is dark enough so that he doesn't notice the color of my cheeks. I almost leave right then when Rory reaches over the bed and flicks the bedside lamp on.

"Okay, well I'll start first." He begins. "I was way out of line to kiss you like that, and I'm sorry, it was wrong and I know that you only think of us as friends and I just hope that I didn't totally ruin our friendship." Smiling shyly I lean forward and wrap my arms around him and rest my head on his shoulder.

"I take that as a no." Rory says; I can hear the grin in his voice.

"Nothing could break our friendship Rory, it's stronger than that." He sighs in relief and hugs me tighter. "I am so glad Prim, thanks." We stay in each other's arms a little longer until I gather enough courage to pull away and say what I really came here to say.

"So you really like me more than a friend?" I start out by asking. Rory blushes slightly in the golden lamplight and nods. "Yeah, since we were twelve actually." I gasp quietly because that's kind of when my feelings for him increased as well. "Wow." I breathe.

"Yeah." He says again, dragging out the word and clasping his hands behind his head and letting out his breath slowly.

"Rory, I have something to tell you." He turns to me and eyes me curiously. "Okay, what is it?"

"Um, I, uh feel the same way. I like you more than just a best friend, have for two years, and I think that I love you. And now I don't know what I'll do if you die, I'll probably die myself!"

"Oh Prim!" He kisses my head and pulls me one again to him as I sob into his chest and he rubs my back soothingly.

"I'll never let you die Prim." He whispers a few minutes later once my cries have subsided somewhat.

"And you think that I'll just let you die?" I say, raising my voice a little more than I had intended.

"No, but there can only be one victor, Prim your Mother needs you to come home."

"Don't you think I know that? But what about you? You think that your family won't be absolutely heartbroken if you die in this arena too!" I yell at him.

"Of course they'd be sad but they have each other, your Mom is alone and it'll just kill her if you don't come home. She has lost her husband and oldest daughter, she can't lose you too." He finishes in a whisper.

"Let's not talk about this anymore." I say.

"Good idea, you need to get some sleep, tomorrow is going to be a busy day."

"Oh and you don't need rest?" I ask jokingly and playfully punch him in the arm.

"Ow!" He fakes hurt and falls back onto the bed clutching his arm and moaning in 'pain'.

"Awe did I hurt the big tough boy?" I ask, trying to hold in my laughter.

"Yes." I start laughing then and Rory pulls me down beside him and we lie there side by side still giggling.

My eyes soon begin to get droopy and I just allow them to close gently. I feel Rory pull a blanket around me then kiss my forehead and whisper 'Good Night,' before lying back down beside me and also falling almost instantly to sleep.

"Good Morning! Time to get up! It's going to be a big, big, big day!" I groan and pull the blanket up over my head not wanting to start the day already. Effie continues to bang on the door and yell at us in her overly high pitched voice and when I can't take it anymore I groan loudly again and sit up.

"Morning." Rory smiles at me and sits up as well. "How did you sleep?"

"Great until now." I reply, trying to put on a convincing smile. "You?"

"Best sleep I've had in a long time."

"That's good." I say and hop off the bed. "Well I'm going to go get changed."

"How about we meet back here in 10 minutes." Rory suggests.

"Fine, see you then." I open his door and hurry across the hall to my own room, quickly shutting the door behind me.

Seeing as today could be my last chance for a decent shower for a while I hop into the huge shower and quickly wash my hair and body with the sweet smelling soaps, in five minutes I am finished.

I don't bother finding something real nice to put on since after breakfast we will be fitted into our arena outfits so I just slip into a pair of jeans and a purple long-sleeve and tie my damp hair into a ponytail. Eleven minutes later I am exiting my room and knocking on Rory's door, which he opens almost immediately, like always. He also is dressed in a pair of casual jeans and a grey t-shirt that matches his eyes perfectly.

"Ready to go and enjoy our last real meal?" Rory asks, trying to lighten the mood.

"I guess so, let's go." Taking his hand we walk together to the dining room where both Effie and Haymitch are waiting.

"Oh good, you're here." Effie says in her squeaky voice. "We have exactly," She glance at her watch then a clipboard that she always carries with her, "ten minutes before you two have to meet with your stylists to be dressed in the arena uniform." Rory and I just nod and start eating.

"Better eat as much as you can fit in, you're going to need it." Haymitch mutters loud enough for us to hear.

I take his advice and so does Rory; we pile our plates high with enough food that would feed both our families for an entire day, three meals!

"So, any last words of advice before we go?" Rory asks between mouthfuls of ham and eggs.

"The most important thing and the first thing you need to do when the gong sounds is to get away from the fighting and find water. You'll get dehydrated quickly and won't last real long without water, that is your main concern. And make sure you stay away from the bloodbath, don't go trying to get weapons and supplies, I'm sure your allies will have enough to share." We both nod in agreement with Haymitch and get back to eating.

"You two have quite a number of sponsors already and if you add up your group and their sponsors as well I'd say that you should pretty well taken care of." Haymitch adds.

"Thanks Haymitch." I say with as much sincerity as I can muster up for the old drunk, and surprisingly I'm going to miss them both.

Rory and I are just scraping the remains of the food off of our plates when Effie stands up abruptly and points to the clock on the wall. "It's time to go if we don't want to be late!" We push our chairs back and follow her out of the room to wherever we will be meeting our stylists. When we arrive at the two doors Rory and I are separated and I am pushed into the room where Cinna is there waiting for me with an outfit just my size.

"Hello Prim." He greets me and invites me to a chair.

"Hi Cinna."

"How are we doing today honey?" I shrug at the question, "I'm nervous and-and scared." My voice begins to quiver but I stay strong, not willing myself to cry.

"I know, it's pretty hard not to be, but you're going to be fine. Your allies will take care of you." I nod, "Thanks Cinna."

"Anytime my young beauty." I blush a little at this. He then retrieves my arena costume and helps me but it on. It consists of a pair of double lined cargo pants that can zip off into shorts when the weather gets too warm; then I put on a thin t-shirt with a thin zip-up long sleeve over top that is supposed to keep me warm at night, and on top of it all Cinna helps me into a water proof, wind proof jacket with a hood.

"From the outfit I am guessing that there will be some pretty cold weather." He says, then hands me a pair of grey socks which I pull on, then last are some hiking type boots that are good for climbing and rough terrain and also keep your feet warm in cold weather but don't sweat when it's hot.

"There, all finished."

"Thank you." I say quietly.

"Would you like me to fix your hair?" He asks. "We have a little extra time."

"Yes please." I sit down in a chair and Cinna releases my hair from the elastic and begins to brush it out until in shines once more. Then he begins to braid, and I recognize the type of braid almost immediately.

"This is how Katniss had her hair for the games." I voice my thoughts out loud. Cinna smiles and nods.

"Yes, it sure is Prim. I thought you might like it."

"Yes, thank you so much." He finishes a few minutes later and kisses the top of my head.

"Well, it is time to go now." I follow him silently out the door where we meet up with Portia and Rory. Together the four of us walk to the launching room.

"We'll give you two a few minutes alone." Cinna whispers and he and Portia leave Rory and I together, to say goodbye even though we'll probably see each other, but just in case; our last chance to speak without our every word being broadcasted over the entire country.

"Prim, uh I was wondering if you would wear this as your token in the arena. Unless you have something already, which is totally fine!" He adds quickly. I laugh quietly and shake my head, "No, I don't have a token." Rory smiles and hands me a necklace with a leather string and a small wooden mockingjay dangling at the end.

"Oh, thank you Rory, it's beautiful!" I give him a hug.

"Thanks, I was going to give it to you for your birthday but of course that's not going to happen, so…"

"I love it." I say, still smiling. "But do you have a token?" He nods and shows a woven bracelet also made from leather.

"Who is it from?" I ask curiously.

"It was my Dad's, my mom gave it to me before we left."

"It's really nice." I tell him.

"Yeah, I know." I then look over to where Cinna is and he holds up two fingers, signaling two more minutes before launching time.

"Okay Prim, whatever you do run away from the fighting, go anywhere and we'll find you." Rory begins.

"I know, I will." I assure him. "And you too." He nods, "Don't worry." A few tears escape my eyes and I throw my arms around his neck.

"Be safe." I whisper to him.

"You too."

"See you soon Rory." This time I make the move and reach up on tiptoes and give him and short but sweet kiss. "I just had to do that, one more time." He smiles sadly and leans down and kisses me again, this time just a little longer.

"I love you Prim." He whispers, then we are being taken separate ways by our stylists to be launched.

I follow Cinna to a glass cylinder, the door opens and I step inside but not before I jump into his arms and hug him tight.

"Thanks for being the best stylist ever, and for making me feel beautiful for a week."

"You are welcome Prim, and you will always be beautiful, don't ever think otherwise." I nod and then all of a sudden the plate under my feet begins to rise. I wave to Cinna and hold my breath as I rise higher and higher and am soon blinded by the bright light of the sun. The voice of the head game maker is heard as he begins the 60-second count down.

Let the games begin!

_**The games are about to begin! So exciting and sad all at the same time, right? So this chapter was only supposed to be around 2000 words but I couldn't stop so now it's about 2600, which is okay with you all I'm sure **___

_**Thanks for reading and please don't forget to leave a review. Until next time!**_

~FirePearl


	15. First Day

_**I'm back with another chapter! Sorry its been like almost a week but I updated my other story and I've been kinda sick so sorry about that **____** I'm probably as excited as you all to get the games started and this chapter should be pretty interesting and more action packed, but sadly we only got around 7 reviews so it won't be super long **___

_**I don't have anything else to say except, enjoy the chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Chapter 15…**_

60 seconds. My eyes adjust to the bright sunlight and survey the area trying to locate my best friend. I find him not to far off, about 7 tributes away right in between Caspian and Finnick. Looking to my right I find that Carissa is crouched beside me, ready to run, but the bloodthirsty male from district 6 is on my left, ready to kill. He's pretty young, only twenty I think but in great shape and probably a really good fighter.

50 seconds. The arena looks to be divided into 4 large sections; one is an entrance to a white world totally covered in snow. The second has a few trees and has a layer of colorful fall leaves on the ground. The third section is a field of wild flowers, a small stream and blooming trees; at least this is what I can see from my plate. And the last section is all green, then it comes to me, this year's arena is the four seasons.

40 seconds. Locking eyes with Caspian he discretely points to the summer forest, probably telling me to head there. I nod and his eyes move to Carissa and he does the same, then Sage until all of us younger kids know where to go as soon as the gong sounds.

30 seconds. I find Rory staring at me, fear evident in his eyes. I can't see him that well because of the blinding sun but I know he's reminding me to be careful. Annie who is a little to my left gives me a comforting smile and I smile back then get into a position to run.

20 seconds. I see a small backpack and bow and arrows not too far from me that I think I could get if I was quick enough. Rory notices where I'm looking and firmly shakes his head. My gaze goes back between him and the weapon that could help save my life not sure what to do.

10 seconds. I sure hope I don't die in the bloodbath.

9. Goodbye Mother, please don't be too sad.

8. I'll be seeing you soon enough Katniss.

7. Be safe my new friends, Carissa, Sage and Rosa.

6. I love you Rory.

5. Should I risk getting the bow and arrows?

4. Should I listen to Rory and Caspian and head for the summerwoods?

3. I don't know what to do!

2. Please help me.

1. Run

The gong sounds and I jump off my plate and run straight towards the bow and arrows, surprising myself and reaching it first. I swing it over my shoulder and pick up the small pack on my way just as a spear comes flying in my direction but ends up hitting a young man that jumps in front of it to save me.

Gasping in surprise a few tears fall from my eyes as the boy dies, only a little older than Rory. Just then someone grabs my arm and begins dragging me along. I scream and try to kick my captor when I look up into Rory's face and immediately stop but continue to run alongside him.

A few minutes later we arrive at the meeting place where some of our allies are already waiting for us.

"Prim I told you to run! You could have been killed!" Rory begins yelling at me angrily.

"I know." I say quietly, looking at the ground. "I just had to get that bow and arrows!"

"But what if something happened to you Prim?"

"I know, I'm sorry." Just then Caspian and Misty run up to us, arms filled with supplies and both panting heavily.

"Aaron is dead." Caspian informs us sadly. "He was from District 3 and died saving Prim from a spear." Misty finishes for him.

Tears begin streaming down my cheeks for the boy who saved my life and Rory puts his arm comfortingly around my shoulders.

"We need to get out of here." Caspian says, taking command. "Is everyone here?" We all begin looking around us and a few seconds later Sage and Aster come running up and then Finnick and Annie.

"Yep, I think that's everyone." Rory tells him.

"Good, now we're going to need to split into a few smaller groups since we are a lot of people and then we can meet up at night, probably here where it is warmer." Caspian says. Gloss then stands up from where he was lounging casually on a log and begins dividing us into 3 groups.

"Okay then, in the first group we'll have: Sage, Finnick, Annie and me and Cashmere." The 5 of them all cluster together while Gloss calls out the next group.

"In the second group we'll put Carissa, Jules, Ruby, Prim and Rory." The five of us move to stand together as well.

"And the third group we'll have Caspian, Misty, Rosa and Aster." Soon our three groups are ready and we head our separate ways. The first group heads to the winter section, we go to the spring and the third to the fall. Caspian's group will be hunting down tributes to kill and we'll be looking for a food or people I guess, I just don't want to have to kill anyone.

"Okay, let's get going." Jules says, taking command. Shouldering my bow and arrows and handing my pack to Rory I take Carissa's hand and we along with Ruby and Rory begin following Jules to Spring Section o the arena, hoping that we will be the first one's there. We stop at the line of green grass and flowers before going in.

"We need to be very careful and watch out for any kind of mutts or birds that could be dangerous, also don't eat anything without being positive it is safe first." Jules tells us. We all nod and take our first step in the grass. Carissa immediately begins picking flowers and making a flower crown and necklace as we walk and it makes me think of the meadow back home, safe and peaceful.

"We need to find water soon." Rory says after about an hour of leisurely strolling through the meadow and not seeing any signs of life.

"You're right, there should be a stream or source of water around here somewhere." I agree. "I saw it from my plate during the countdown."

"Good, that means that it shouldn't be too far away." Jules says and starts to quicken his pace and we all hurry to keep up with him.

Carissa frolics around like a little child, continuing to gather flowers and chasing after bright colored butterflies. I smile while watching her, "It's like it's almost too good to be true, you know?" I say to Rory who is walking beside me silently.

"Yeah, I know. It feels like the capitol is just playing with us before they kill us off."

"I'm beginning to get scared Rory." He gives my hand a squeeze, "Don't worry, you have lots of allies that will protect you, and I won't let anything happen to you."

"Thanks." I give him a hand squeeze as well and we continue to follow Jules, Ruby and Carissa through the never-ending field of flowers and tall green grass that comes up to my knees.

Another hour later we still haven't found any water and my mouth is feeling very dry.

"Wait!" I call ahead of us for Jules to halt for a minute. "We haven't found any water yet but we haven't checked out packs yet for water, there might be enough to hold us until we do find water." I suggest.

"I never thought of that, good thinking Prim." Our small group settles down in the tall grass that will pretty much hide us from any enemies and begin emptying out our backpacks. Rory unzips the one that I picked up and empties the contents. A package of dried fruit, a pair of sunglasses, some crackers, a small bit of rope and an empty bottle of water.

"No water." I tell Jules. "What do you have?" He begins taking things out of his pack one by one and holding them up. A sleeping back that folds up real small, beef jerky, dried fruit, a knife, a package of nuts, sunglasses, water purifier, and also an _empty _water bottle. He curses under his breath and stuffs everything back inside.

"No water."

"Well we'll just have to keep looking, I'm sure that if we don't find any soon someone will send us some, between all five of us there must be some sponsors." I say, trying to cheer him up a bit.

"Ruby, what's in your pack?" Rory asks a minute later. The 15-year-old girl in turn opens up the large back and dumps it upside down for everyone to see. Another sleeping bag, more snacks, a pair of extra socks, a first-aid kit, a small skinning knife and a whistle. No water and not even a water bottle.

"Just great." Jules huffs and stands up. Just then the sound of flapping wings is heard and Jules falls back to the ground.

"What is it?" I whisper loudly.

"Butterflies, swarms of them, coming this way." He whispers back. I sit up and peek up over the grass and sure enough a whole group of brightly colored butterflies and flying quickly towards us.

"I don't think those are normal butterflies." Carissa whimpers slightly. We need to get out of here, now." Rory says and begins crawling in the opposite direction of the flying beauties. I get on my hands and knees and follow him with Carissa right behind me. The flapping of wings gets closer and so loud that I can' even hear myself or anyone around me speak. The butterflies don't come down to us like I expected, they don't attack so I have to wonder if they aren't just a species that I've never seen or if their specialty is in some other department then attacking. They stay directly above us as we continue to crawl and I think I might go crazy from the sound of their strange wings. All of a sudden the grass stops and we are at a small river, I immediately dunk my head in the cool water and enjoy the relief from the noise and when I come up for air I see that the rest of my group has done the same.

Looking up I notice that the butterflies have disappeared, for now. A small smile creeps onto my lips and I splash more water on my face. I am just about to drink some when Rory speaks, "Wait! We don't know if the water is okay for drinking yet!" Jules nods and opens his pack, then hands Rory the water purifier. We take out the two empty bottles and fill them with the cool water then squeeze in two drops each of the clear liquid.

"Now we wait five minutes before drinking it." He says. Those five minutes seem to last forever and my mouth gets dryer by the second, but it is soon over and Rory hands Carissa and I each a bottle first, "Make sure you drink it slowly." Nodding I slurp the water, letting it soothe my dry throat and after a few sips I hand it to Rory and he in turn to Jules. We empty both bottles then refill them and pack them away for later.

"Now what?" Ruby asks.

"Well we only have about two hours until it should be getting dark so we'd better start heading back to the summer section and maybe look for a place to set up camp along the way." We all agree and begin walking back to wear the cornucopia is set up. I am just beginning to think that the game-makers might leave us alone for the rest of the night when a large eagle-like bird makes a screeching noise and swoops down to us. Rory pushes me out of the way just as the bird reaches where I was standing, claws open and ready to grab something.

The bird swoops down again, this time at Carissa. Before any of us can get to her the talons of the bird scratch all down her back and she lets out a horrible scream, blood flowing freely from the wounds. I hurry over to her and pick her, placing her behind a bush where hopefully we won't be spotted. She's sobbing in pain and I feel so terrible for her that that happened.

"Okay, I want you to stay real quiet right here and I'll be right back." I tell her, she nods and I creep over to where Ruby left her pack and quickly take out the first-aid kit. Rory, Jules and Ruby are fighting the bird at the moment and I can only hope that they make it back alive and unharmed. I gently slip Carissa's blood-soaked jacket off of her and throw it to the side to be washed, then I take off her long-sleeve, then her t-shirt, leaving her in a red undershirt. I clean the wound as best I can with the supplies that I have then rub some salve on them and wrap her back in bandages. Once that is all taken care of I leave her to rest and bring her clothes to the river to try and scrub the blood out.

The rest of our group returns then, Ruby has a few scratched and so does Rory but other than that they are all fine. Ruby gives Carissa her jacket until I am finished washing the other one and we all sit around watching the young girl sleep and waiting for the clothes to dry.

"We really need to start heading back to the others before it gets to dark to see." Jules says a little while later.

"Yeah, I guess so." I agree. The two shirts have mostly dried so I help Carissa put them back on then Jules carries her on his back because she is too week to walk. Her jacket still isn't dry so I carry it and she keeps on Ruby's for the time being.

We arrive at the campsite about two hours later where everyone is waiting for us. Between the three groups and all the tributes we have 4 tents in all. Ruby, Carissa, Sage and I all share one until it is our turn to keep watch. Before we fall asleep the capitol anthem sounds and the pictures of the dead tributes are shown in the sky:

Aaron from District 3, the boy who saved my life is the first one to be shown and a few tears slip down my cheeks as I watch his picture disappear into the night air. Next is Alan from district 5, then his partner Anna; After that is Seeder from 7, Female from 8, Male morphling from and Cressida from 10. Last of all is the female from District 11. I notice Sage blows her a kiss; they must have known each other since they were both from the same district. Only 8 tributes died today, out of 46, no one died after the bloodbath.

As I drift off to sleep the only thought that comes to me is; _We survived the first day._

_**Okay that was a little longer than I was going to but I didn't want it to be boring and I just couldn't stop **____** I hope we can get more reviews for this one though and have a longer chapter! Please excuse any mistakes!**_

_**I hope you liked it!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	16. Midnight Chats and More

_**Hello! I'm updating earlier this time than usual! I only got 6 reviews so it's not that long but I hope you like it **___

_**Thank you so much those of you who did review for the last chapter though, I'm glad you are enjoying it **___

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games**_

Chapter 16…

Caspian wakes me up after a few hours sleep to keep watch with him and I have to say I don't feel as tired as I expected.

"What time is it?" I whisper as we walk quietly over to a log away from the sleeping tributes. Caspian settles down beside me before answering.

"It's a little past midnight, because we are so many we only have to watch for an hour then we switch off."

"Okay, that's good." I respond, not sure of what else to say. "It's so dark out here."

"Here, try these." He hands me a pair of sunglasses like I have in my backpack.

"Aren't they for the sun though?" I ask, a little confused.

"No these are special so that we can see in the dark. They are quite handy when you are on the watch."

"Cool." I reply and take them from him, placing them over my eyes. All of a sudden everything is clear and a sort of green color.

"I can see everything!" I say excitedly, then clamp my hand over my mouth.

"Don't worry, I think we're pretty alone here, no one can hear us." I don't know if I should feel comforted or scared when he says this but I'm sure I can trust him so I go with the former.

"What's it like in District 12?" He asks in whisper. I try and choose carefully what to say because every word that comes out of my mouth will be on live television for everyone to here.

"Probably very different then where you come from." I begin.

"You're probably right." Caspian agrees. "Who did you live with?"

"I live with my Mother. My sister as you know died in last years games and my Dad was killed in a mining accident when I was quite young." I tell him, trying at the same time to keep my emotions under control.

"I'm sorry." He whispers and gives my hand a squeeze. "I lost someone too you know."

"Really, who?"

"I had a best friend, kind of like you and Rory. Well I fell in love with her when I was thirteen, almost fourteen, and the next year during the 73rd Hunger Games she was reaped and died a horrible death and I never got to tell her how I felt about her."

"I'm so sorry Caspian." I whisper comfortingly.

"Thanks."

"What's it like, living my the ocean?" He shrugs, "It's nice. The salty air, the seagulls, the pretty shells and we eat fish a lot and everyone knows how to swim from a very young age."

"Wow, I'd like to learn how to swim. Katniss was going to teach me but then she was reaped and everything changed."

"Well maybe you'll win this thing and you can learn."

"Yeah, maybe." I say without much conviction. We sit quietly after that, just listening to the night crickets in the grass close by and the occasional snore from a tribute.

"So what is the deal with you and Rory, and be honest." Caspian says, breaking the silence a few minutes later.

"We've been friends since we were little, did everything together and then I just recently realized that I love him and if he dies and I live, I just don't know if I could do it."

"Wow, I really am sorry that you two had to be thrown into this together. But Misty has been like an older sister to me for years and I'd be lost without her. So in a way I'm glad that I don't have to do this without my older sister but either one or both of us won't make it out so I guess it's kind of bittersweet."

"Yeah, I know exactly how you feel."

"You know, District 4 tributes are supposed to be like the bloodthirsty careers but I never did like the idea of killing someone, I mean I'll do it if I have to protect myself or someone else but I still don't enjoy doing it."

"I really hope I don't have to kill anyone." I say.

"I'll make sure you don't have to Prim."

"Thank you." I wonder how many thousands of people are listening to our conversation right now, I sure hope neither of us said anything that could get us killed or our families back home punished.

"Do you have a family back in District four?" I ask after thinking all this.

"Yes, I live with my Mom, Dad and little five year-old brother."

"Awe sweet, what's his name?"

"It's Dylan, which means 'sea'."

"I wish I could meet him." I sigh.

"Yeah me too, you'd really like him. He has dark blonde hair and bright blue eyes and he's so adorable."

"I can just picture him." I reply, closing my eyes and imagining the cute little boy from District 4.

"Can he swim?" I ask, reopening my eyes.

"Yeah, I taught him last summer actually and he's like a chubby little fish swimming."

Just then Caspian glances at his watch, "Times up, I need to go and wake up Jules and Aster for the next watch, you can go ahead back to your tent."

"Okay thanks." I reply.

"It was really nice talking to you Prim." He says, smiling in the darkness."

"It was nice for me too." I say then hand him the night vision glasses back and he places them in his pocket.

"Good Night Prim."

"Good Night Caspian." Then he surprises me by giving me a quick hug and I am positive my cheeks flushed bright red when he did. He then leaves me at my tent and heads to the next one. Sighing contentedly I unzip the zipper on the tent that I am sharing with the three younger girls.

Just as I am about to duck inside I notice the form of a boy, peeking out of his tent, and then it hits me, _Rory probably just watched the entire hour I spent with Caspian._

I am awoken a few hours later by Carissa and Sage screaming and Ruby trying to calm them down.

"What is it?" I ask them, sitting up quickly and looking all around for any signs of attack.

We are under attack but Caspian instructed me to stay with you three while they fight whoever it is.

Then I hear the sounds of clanking metal, yells and screams of pain. I am pretty sure we out number whoever is after us but that doesn't mean that we are more skilled with weapons.

"I need to go help them." I say quickly, reaching for my bow and quiver of arrows.

"No." Ruby intervenes by placing a firm hand on my weapons. "I have strict instructions from both Rory and Caspian to keep you here no matter what." The fifteen-year-old tells me.

"But I can fight!" I argue.

"I know you can but we need you in good condition just in case someone needs your healing skills."

"Fine." I sigh in defeat. "I'll stay, but only because I may be able to help later on."

"Good." Ruby replies. Sage and Carissa have now quieted down and are sitting huddled together at the very back of the tent, whimpering quietly.

"Okay, we need to stay quiet and in the very middle of the tent just in case someone sticks something sharp through the material." We all obey and so for what seems like hours we sit together in a cluster, waiting for it all to be over. Just then I see a shadow standing in front of our tent and noiselessly reach for my bow and Ruby grabs a knife, pushing the younger girls behind her. Then a voice is heard that makes us all sigh audibly in relief, "Prim, are you in there? Can I come in?" I crawl over to the entrance and quickly unzip it revealing a bloody Rory leaning heavily on Caspian and Jules holding a tightly to an injury on his left forearm.

Seeing this I immediately change into my medical self and get right down to business.

"Okay Ruby I need you to take the girls to another tent and we'll keep this one for those who are hurt, and I'll need you to bring me all the medical supplies we have on you way back. She nods and wordlessly herds the girls outside and then I am left alone with the three boys, two of which are bleeding quite heavily.

Turning on one of the electric lanterns that Sage had in her pack I am able to see a little easier.

"Who was it?" I whisper to Caspian.

"District 3 and 5 tributes along with the bloodthirsty Enobaria and Brutus and a few others." He replies.

"Are they dead?" I ask hesitantly.

"All but Enobaria, Brutus the male from District 3 and two out of three from District 5 got away, we got the rest."

"Anyone from us?" He hangs his head when I ask this and I immediately get suspicious, "Who?"

"It was Misty. She jumped in front of me to save me from a poisoned arrow. We couldn't save her." A few tears escape his eyes and roll down his cheeks. I move closer to him and pull the sad boy into a hug.

"I'm so, so sorry Caspian." Counting in my head, there were 7 deaths in one night, but thankfully only one of ours. I still can't believe the sweet girl that I only knew for a few days is gone and I'll never see her again.

A minute later Ruby returns with an armload of medical supplies and a limping Annie beside her with Finnick right behind. Making room in the small tent I let Finnick in to help Annie lay down and begin looking through the packs with medicines and bandages, picking out the ones I'll need.

I go to Rory first. He has a cut on his cheek that is oozing dark blood and another cut down his chest. I help him out of his jacket and shirt and apply some ointment that'll help prevent infection after wiping away all the blood, then bandage it up.

When he is finished and sleeping soundly I move on to Jules who is still awake. He lets me look at his arm, a long gash probably from a sword is losing blood quickly. I find some thread and a needle and quickly sew it up, trying to ignore as he winces in pain. I don't like inflicting pain upon anyone so I just try and get it done quickly. After it is all sewn up I wrap his arm in bandage then move on to Annie who has a cut on the calf of her right leg and is holding tightly onto Finnick's hand.

I fix her up as well without saying a word then leave them all to sleep. I find the tent where the girls are fast asleep and lie down beside Carissa. I cry softly into my pillow for those who died today even if they tried to kill us, but Misty's death is the worst because I actually knew her.

I drift off to sleep a little while later once my tears are spent and the first rays of light are beginning to show.

_**Please don't hate me but not everyone can live! Anyway I hope you liked it. Someone asked me to add a little Rory getting jealous of Caspian and Prim thing so I did a little of that in this one and it'll probably continue in the next chapter when Prim talks with Rory.**_

_**Sorry for the mistakes! Thanks for reading and please leave a review!**_


	17. Death and Sadness

_**I'm back with a new chapter! YAY! Thank you so much for the encouraging reviews last chapter, I only received 7 so I was going to make this chapter a little less than 2000 words but of course it didn't happen that way but it is still shorter than others **_

_**I hope you all enjoy it!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Chapter 17…**_

Caspian wakes everyone up a few hours later but we decide not to move camp until our patients are better and up for walking. I am dubbed the camp nurse and am instructed to stay with Annie, Rory and Jules until they get back. Finnick didn't leave Annie's side all night and he now refuses to go with the rest of the group to go hunting. So it ends up just being him and I along with the patients and the three younger girls, everyone else eats a small breakfast then heads out, promising to return in a few hours time.

Rory still has not awoken and I am beginning to get worried. Aster brought a bucket of cool water to the hospital tent right before they left so I keep dabbing a cloth on Rory's forehead, hoping that he doesn't wake up with a fever. I get up and stretch my legs then open up both sides of the tent to let some air and light into the dreary atmosphere. Finnick sits up then and gives me a smile.

"You did a good job last night, fixing them up."

"Thanks." I say quietly and don't look him in the eye. I'm not very good at taking compliments from people, especially this guy.

"How is she?" I ask a few minutes later, gesturing to the small women asleep beside him.

"She hasn't woken up but it was only a sprained ankle so she should be fine." Finnick replies.

"That's good. Are you two, um…"?

"Married? No, not yet at least. We were planning on it so I guess you could say that we're engaged and now we won't get a chance to be married."

"I'm sorry, that must be awful." I say sympathetically.

"Yeah, well nothing I can do to change it so I'll just try and enjoy the time I have left with her." Finnick says, shrugging. I have to say that I almost believe him when he says this but that look in his eyes shows that he is just acting for the cameras.

"Did you ever meet my sister?" I ask.

"Katniss? I sure did. I was in the capitol right before she and Peeta entered the games, i met her then." "Oh, that's nice." I reply quietly.

"I'm sure you miss her, a lot." He says, a sad look in his eyes.

"Yeah, I do." I take a deep breath, trying not to cry. But nowadays it's hard not to cry when talking about Katniss, or anything back home.

"Come here." Finnick tells me, motioning for me to sit beside him. I do so and settle down next to him and the still sleeping Annie.

"I am going to tell you a secret." He whispers and leans closer to my ear.

"Okay."

"You will see you sister and Peeta again." I jerk back and eye him warily.

"How is that possible?" I hiss. "They are dead! So unless I die too I'll never see them again!"

"Trust me Prim."

"How can I trust you? I barely even know you!"

"Because I'm on your side, and I know some things that you do not." He replies evenly.

"Like what?"

"I just told you, your sister is alive." I stand up quickly after he says this and walk outside to the place where Caspian and I chatted last night. _After an entire year of thinking that my sister is dead and then being told that she is alive? How am I supposed to believe that? I saw that arrow pierce her heart, I heard the cannon, and I saw the hovercraft take her pale, limp body away. _

But no matter how far fetched it sounds I now have more hope than I did before.

I must have fallen asleep out by that tree because all of a sudden someone is calling my name and I sit up quickly, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I locate the source of the voice at the hospital tent. It is Finnick waving me over so is stand up and hurry over.

"Finnick, is something wrong?" I ask, trying to sow down my breathing.

"No, sorry to worry you but your friend is awake and asking for you. I guess he kind of freaked out when you weren't in sight when he opened his eyes."

I smile, "Thanks Finnick. But how long was I asleep?"

"You were out for about two hours, don't worry you deserved it. No go on in and I'm going to go for a short walk around camp with Annie, she wants to stretch and work her ankle a bit."

I nod, "Okay. And Jules?"

"He woke up about an hour ago and left to find the rest of the group. I tried to stop him but you know how those District one careers are."

"Oh yeah, alright, se you later Finnick, and thanks for letting me rest. I feel much better now."

"No problem kid." He flashes me a smile then walks away to join Annie who is waiting for him sitting against a nearby tree. I then duck inside the ten to find Rory propped up on a rolled up sleeping bag, impatiently waiting for me to come.

"Hey." I say smiling and crouch down beside him. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, a little sore but better." He replies.

"That's good, but I should probably change your bandages and put clean ones on."

"Okay." I reach over him and grab one of the packs with the bandages and open it up on my lap. Slipping his shirt back over his head I gently unwrap the bandage from his chest and wringing out the clothe I gently wipe away the dried blood then dab some ointment on the cut before bandaging it back up with clean ones. The nice thing about being with the careers is that we get a lot of the supplies, which is definitely helpful.

"There, all done." I say, helping him back into his t-shirt.

"Thanks Prim."

"No problem, at least I can be a little helpful around here even though I can't really fight." He just smiles and grabs my hand, giving it a small squeeze.

"So you kept watch with Caspian last night?" He asks casually. I was kind of wondering when he would bring this up since I am quite sure I saw him watching us.

"Yeah, he just woke me up and said that it was our turn so we just sat out there for an hour until the next watch."

"And did you just talk, or what?"

"Rory! Of course all we did was talk, what do think?"

"I don't know."

"Seriously, I barely know him! He just told me about his home in District 4 and his little brother and how everyone knows how to swim."

"That's nice." He replies quietly.

"Wait. Rory you aren't jealous are you?" I say smirking.

"What? No of course not! That's crazy, you were only talking."

"Uh huh. So do you think you are feeling up to stretching your legs outside for a bit of fresh air?" I ask, changing the subject.

"Sure, it's my chest that hurts not my legs." He says grinning.

"It hurts?" I ask suddenly.

"Oh no! Okay maybe a little but I hardly notice it." He quickly covers.

"Are you sure?" I insist.

"Yeah, don't worry I'm fine."

"If you say so." I smile and grab his other hand, helping him up. Hand in hand we step outside and Rory breathes deeply, inhaling the air.

"How about we walk to that little stream over there." I suggest, pointing in the direction where we get our water supply.

"Sure."

After a few minutes of slow walking we arrive at the stream and each drink deeply of the cool water.

"So what exactly happened last night?" I ask my friend as we sit down on a large boulder next to the water. "Did you kill anyone?"

"No, I'm glad that the others took care of that but it was awful seeing those tributes die." He replies quietly

"Yeah, and how did you get that cut on your chest?"

"It was that freaky victor from District 2 with the fangs. She was going to stab me in the chest but I moved out of the way so just skimmed over the skin."

"I think her name is Enobaria."

"Yeah I think you're right. I just can't believe that I could've died last night." I reach over and put my arms around him, being careful not to touch his still sensitive injury. "I'm so glad you are alright, and here with me."

Rory hugs me back and sighs, "Me too Prim, me too." Just then an arrow lodges itself in a tree behind us. Rory immediately pushes me to the ground then we both crawl until we are behind a large bush. He puts a finger to his lips, signaling for me to keep quiet and carefully peeks through the bushes, looking for any sign of our attackers.

We wait for about five minutes, barely breathing and just when I think that maybe they walked right past us 4 large tributes, 2 of which are Enobaria and Brutus jump into the clearing by the water, directly in front of us.

Rory clamps his hand over my mouth to keep me from crying out and we both watch, wide eyed in fear as they make their way to our camp where Carissa, who is still injured, and Sage and Rosa are in one of the tents, alone. Once we are alone again I stand up quickly and begin dragging Rory along behind me.

"We have to help them!"

"Prim!" I keep going. "Prim stop!" I look back at him. "What? They need our help!"

"Prim we'll just end up dying. They know how to defend themselves and they have weapons. I'm hurt and neither of us have any sort of weapons to use.

"I can't just leave them though!" I say, tears threatening to spill.

"I know, and we'll find a way, but let's think this through before we just rush into the middle of it all and get killed instantly." He tells me seriously.

"Rory I know you are trying to be rational right now, but we have no time to think of a plan! Three, possibly five lives are in danger!" I persist.

"Fine, we'll go help. But I don't want you running out into the open right away, okay?"

"Okay." I agree and begin walking briskly once more. Before we even get to our camp's clearing I can hear the sounds of battle; little girls' screams, clashing metal and yells of frustration and cries of pain. We burst through the trees and bushes into the clearing to see that Caspian, Aster, Finnick and Jules are fighting desperately against our enemies. Thankfully they are trained careers, but they have definitely found their matches against these tributes.

As I take all of this in my eyes move to a small form, still and covered in blood on the ground. Carissa.

I forget everything Rory just told me and run over to her with Rory screaming at me to stop. But I don't, all I can think of is that I need to save my friend, she can't die! Kneeling down beside the small girl I brush the hair from her face and check for a pulse. All is still and no breath is emitting from her mouth. The tears come now in full force as I kiss her forehead and say goodbye. Just then a canon sounds and I know that she is truly gone. The others have now driven Enobaria and her group away but I can see that they are going to need some medical help, fast.

Suddenly another canon sounds and I look to where the teenage girl that had come with Enobaria and Brutus is now dead. I follow the boys to the 'hospital' tent, leaving the area clear for the hovercrafts the pick up the dead.

Rory checks on the girls who are both in tears and sits with them for a bit until Ruby returns from fighting with Gloss and his sister Cashmere, then Rory leaves the girls to her. I fix the boys up and leave them to rest then head to an empty tent and lie down on one of the sleeping bags, falling asleep and dreaming about Carissa and Misty.

_**Katniss's POV**_

I sit quietly on mine and Peeta's bed with him, watching the 75th Hunger Games, so proud of how my little sister is handling it all and taking care of her allies just like a professional nurse. I know she'll have to 'die' before I see her again but I can't help but hope that is soon. Who can blame me, I haven't seen her in over a year and she thinks I'm dead!

Once the TV goes black I hop off the bed.

"Where are you going?" Peeta asks.

"I'm going to go introduce myself to Prim's new friend, Carissa."

_**If you want to understand the end of this chapter read my brothers story: IT was all a lie, then it'll probably make more sense **__** It's really short so it wouldn't take long to read. This story is kind of a sequel to that one.**_

_**Anyway I hope you liked it and please don't forget to leave a review before you go if you want a long chapter next time!**_

_**Adios Amigos! **_

_**~FirePearl**_


	18. Lost and Alone

_**Hello to all my wonderful readers! I'm back with another chapter! First I want to clear something up that one of my readers brought to my attention. In the last chapter during Finnick and Prim's conversation I totally messed up on how Finnick and Katniss met. Because in all the other stories I'm so used to Katniss winning that I totally forgot the she wouldn't have gone on the victory tour and met Finnick. So it is all fixed now just in case any of you were a little confused on that part **____** Sorry!**_

_**Thanks again for the nice and encouraging reviews, I only got 6, ***__**sniff*, but it sure is better than none, so thank you all who reviewed the last chapter, they were all greatly appreciated.**_

"_**Well that's all for now, I probably will only be able to update this story once a week now **____** but I'll do my best…**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Chapter 18!...**_

The next morning we are awoken once again quite early by Caspian. He has kind of assumed the position as the leader and even though he is from District 4 everyone seems okay with this arrangement, even the previous tributes like Finnick, Gloss and Cashmere.

Caspian announces that we will be moving camp since it seems that everyone else knows where we are and we can't afford anyone more of us getting injured. When step out of my tent into the cool, morning air a small silver parachute floats down and lands on the ground directly in front of me. Quickly scooping it up into my hands I look inside. A small tube of some kind of cream is all that the container holds. At first I have no idea what it could be for then I remember the cut on Rory's chest and immediately hurry to his tent that he is currently sharing with Caspian, Jules and Aster. When I get there Rory is the only one left in the tent and he is rolling up his sleeping bag.

"Morning Prim." He greets me with a smile.

"Hey, how did you sleep?" I ask casually.

"Pretty good although my cut kind of bothered me." He replies, keeping his eyes downward.

"Here let me check it out. I got a parachute this morning with some cream that should help."

"Great." He says and begins taking off his shirt.

"Well, it seems to be healing quite nicely." I assure him while I examine the long cut. "Hopefully this magic capitol cream helps heal it completely." Then twisting off the cap I squeeze a little onto my finger and rub it all over the cut, Rory sighing with relief.

"There," I say when I'm finished. "How does that feel?"

"I think it really is magic Prim!" He exclaims. "The pain automatically went away and there was like this cool sensation that feels wonderful."

"Oh good, I just hope it works and that you won't get and infection."

"Thanks." He says quietly.

"No problem. At least now I feel somewhat useful since I can't really fight."

Rory just smiles back at me and puts his shirt and jacket back on then follows me outside where the rest of the group is finishing up the preparations to move camp. The four tents are tents are taken down by the boys and wrapped up tightly to be stuffed into the backpacks until further needed. Before we leave everyone receives some tried jerky meat that doesn't taste even close to the real thing but helps fill your stomach, and some dried fruit and a granola bar. We finish our breakfast of with a few sips of water, then after refilling the water bottles at the stream nearby we divide into 2 groups this time and set off for the same destination. The group I am in will go straight to find a new campsite while the other group will go a longer way and maybe dispose of a few more tributes while they're at it. Nobody knows exactly where we will set up camp next but the _Summer _section isn't very huge so it won't be too hard to find each other.

My group consists mostly of the younger tributes and those who were injured but can still fight: Rory and I, Jules, Finnick and Annie, Sage and Rosa. Then Caspian along with, Gloss, Cashmere, Aster and Ruby head off in the opposite direction.

This year the tributes are definitely different, for one the district partners get along and secondly the _careers_ aren't so bloodthirsty like they usually are. Jules tries to convince Ruby to come with us but she refuses, saying that she is perfectly capable to fight, but promises that she'll be fine and see him later this afternoon. The fifteen-year-old from what I've seen is quite a fighter, for a girl at least. But I guess I need to quit being surprised at these kinds of things because she's probably been training since she could walk.

Finnick leads our group this time with Annie literally stuck to his side. I trail in the back with Sage and Rosa, smiling as I watch them fascinate at the flowers, plants and insects that we see along our way. For just a minute I imagine that I am on a camping trip with my friends, just like the one's that Katniss and Gale would take years ago. Katniss would come back and tell me everything in great detail and I could just see it all.

All of a sudden I see a small animal scurry across the path and I get an idea that tonight we could have real meat. So without telling anyone I slowly drift from the path and the rest of the group and taking the bow off my back, I string an arrow and hold it in ready.

I am definitely not even close to being a professional hunter like Katniss but I remember a few things that she told me and with eyes and ears on the alert and with stealthy steps I begin in the general direction where I saw the animal, probably a rabbit or something of the sort.

A few minutes later the rest of the group is no longer in sight and after a minute more I can no longer hear them either. I promise myself that I will only be a little bit because if Rory notices my absence then he will absolutely freak out and probably come looking for me by himself. Only then does it occur to me that I don't have any idea where we will be setting up camp and I might be spending the night in the woods alone, unless I find the group or someone finds me first. I have a feeling that they will try and find me since I am the only healer in the group and I am also carrying the backpack with most of the medical supplies as well.

Trying not to worry about what _could_ happen to a girl like me out in the woods all alone with children hunters nearby who are just waiting to spill some innocent girl's blood I keep walking.

All is silent around me except for the occasional rustling of the leaves high in the trees. I don't know where I'm headed but I do know that I want to show all of them that I am capable to hunt and bring food as well as heal the wounded tributes. And at least I can kill a rabbit without feeling too bad about it, but killing a human is a while different story, at least for me it is.

Suddenly a loud rustling is heard in a patch of bushes near me and I point my arrow towards it, waiting for my prey to exit.

I wait what seems like hours but what is only like a minute or two for the animal to come out so that I can shoot it. Finally I catch a glimpse of fur and a second later not a rabbit but a large bird hops out of the bushes, cocks its head then just as it is about to fly away I loose the arrow and it lodges itself right in the birds heart.

"I'm not sure but I think this is the kind of bird that Katniss and her ally Rue ate in their games, groosling I think she called it.

I hurry over to my kill and examine it over, plump with a lot of meat on its bones, should be perfect once cooked over a fire tonight for dinner. Extracting my arrow I place it in the quiver slung on my back then pick the bird up by its feet and begin walking back the way I'd come, hopefully to pick up on my company's trail.

It doesn't take me long to figure out that I am not much of a tracker and I am very much lost and alone. But, determined not to give up hope just yet I keep my head held high and keep on walking in what I think is the right direction, hoping to meet up with someone from our alliance and not someone who wouldn't hesitate to throw a spear through my heart. I begin to get very hot and sweaty about an hour and a half later so I slip off my jacket and stuff it into my already full backpack, taking a quick and small sip of my precious supply of water while I have the pack unzipped.

Feeling a little better and more energized without the extra layer and with wet lips I pick up my pace, determined to find my group. Rory is most likely going crazy by now and I wouldn't be surprised if he came back to look for me as soon as he realized I was missing.

I haven't been going for very long when I find myself in a small clearing with a large tree in the middle. Leaving my things on the ground I grab onto the lowest branch and begin pulling myself up, hoping to get a better idea of where I am once I reach the top. I get poked and scratched by the sharp branches and the bark of the tree but I don't stop until I am at the top. The sad thing is that everything in sight is a tree, I don't find anything that could help me locate the others. Sighing dejectedly I climb back down.

Just as my feet come in contact with the hard ground below I can sense that something is wrong. I am not left waiting for long because two large careers, who I am guessing are Brutus and Enobaria emerge from the trees, weapons in hand and both wearing evil grins. I glance over at my bow and arrows that are lying on the ground just a few feet away.

I don't have time to reach for them though because the creepy older woman with the fangs has me pushed up against the tree.

"Where are they?" She hisses in my face.

"Who?" I ask casually.

"You know who." She spits. "Your alliance, they must be close by." I shake my head, "Nope, I'm all alone."

"I don't believe you, your little boyfriend wouldn't have let you out alone." The woman replies, pushing me harder into the tree until I'm sure my back has permanent indentations of the bark.

"He doesn't know where I am. I swear, I'm the only one." I tell her, trying to sound brave.

"Well, no matter. I was going to kill you either way. Brutus, keep watch." She commands while grabbing a long, pointy dagger from her belt.

"Now, where should I being." She muses to herself. "Oh, I know. How about that pretty little face of yours."

A small whimper escapes my tightly closed lips which makes Enobaria just smile even wider. Her dagger gently slides across my cheek and I wince as it cuts through the skin easily. I can feel the blood begin to drip down my cheek and onto the ground.

My killer is just about to make another mark on my other cheek when a cry is heard close by and she quickly turns around. Brutus who was supposedly keeping watch is now on the ground, a spear protruding from his stomach. Enobaria shrieks and is momentarily distracted, but it is all the time I need to dash to my weapons and a second later I have an arrow pointed at her heart.

I keep it aimed at her, waiting for my rescuer to make an appearance, "Shoot me dearie, I dare you to." Closing my eyes I pull the string back and just as I release, Caspian steps from behind a tree and the arrow just grazes Enobaria's shoulder, she still howls in pain though.

Forgetting about her I run to Caspian and he catches me in his arms.

"Thank you." I whisper with tears streaming down my cheeks and mixing with the blood. In the time that we are hugging Enobaria gets away but it doesn't really bother me, at least I didn't have to kill her.

"Are you okay?" Caspian asks, holding me at arms length.

"Yes, I'm fine, it's just a scratch." I assure him.

"Good, now let's get you back to the others, they're not too far off." He then notices my groosling on the ground and with a curious smile he slings it over his shoulder and after I pick up my pack we begin making our way back to the rest of the group, and Rory.

_**So, what did you think? I hope you liked it, even though there was only some action at the end **____** Sorry for any mistakes!**_

_**Thanks for reading and please leave a review!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	19. Captured!

Hey all my wonderful readers! Sorry it's been so long since the last chapter but I just haven't had time to write! Thanks to: canadianboy98, FearlesswithHimJC, samiesimpson1, sweetStarre123, HGFan4719, and Woldheart4 for reviewing the last chapter. So this isn't a very long chapter but I wanted to post one today I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.

Chapter 19…

"Rory!" I call out, running towards him, my pack bouncing up and down on my back. Rory, along with some of our group turn around at my voice. Rory sees me immediately and hurries over with arms open wide. After dropping my pack along the way, I run straight into them without hesitation, hugging him tightly.

"Don't, ever, do that again." He whispers, stroking my back. "I won't, I'm sorry." I whimper, tears threatening to spill.

"It's okay Prim, I was just so worried about you. You could've been killed!" He says, squeezing me tighter.

"I know."

"Well I'm sorry to break this up but we need to get out of here." We pull away at the sound of Caspian speaking.

"Thanks, again, for saving my life." I tell him with all sincerity.

"It was no problem Prim." He replies, brushing it off. "Now, let's go everybody." I pick up my pack and swing the straps over my shoulders, then after taking Rory's hand and promising not to let go until we get to the camp, we head out. Rory demands to know exactly what happened while we were separated so for the next ten minutes in detail I explain everything.

"So Enobaria isn't dead yet, but Brutus is?" Rory clarifies. I nod, "Yeah, but I'm glad that I still haven't had to kill anyone yet."

"Me too." He gives my hand a comforting squeeze and we keep going through dense foliage, tall grass and along side rivers and streams, searching for the perfect campsite. When we started out this morning the sky was clear blue with barely a cloud in sight, but now as I squint up I notice that quite a few dark clouds have accumulated.

"Looks like it could rain." I say, pointing upward. Rory's eyes follow my finger, "Yeah, it looks that way. Hopefully we find a relatively sheltered place to set up camp."

"Hopefully." I repeat quietly. We keep trudging along, my legs and pretty much my whole body getting more exhausted with each step. Just then a loud clap of thunder rumbles the ground and I move closer to Rory.

"Come on! We need to move quickly if we want to get to shelter before the rain starts!" Caspian shouts and we all begin stumbling forward, but only a little faster than before since everyone is so tired. I soon notice that Sage and Rosa are falling behind so I detach myself from Rory's hand and hurry back to help them. Of course Rory followed me so I grab Rosa's hand and Rory swings Sage onto his back as we hurry back to the rest of the group. My legs are burning and my breath is labored, I have to keep trying to get oxygen to my lungs in short, quick breaths. We don't get very far before the first cold drops of water rainwater begin to fall on our heads. I quickly pull the hood of my waterproof coat over my head and tell Rosa to do the same and after shifting my backpack to a more comfortable location on my back we continue along. Then another clap of thunder sounds and I pull my friend closer to me as we push through the whirling winds and hard raindrops.

"We're almost there!" I barely catch Caspian yelling this to everyone and a new found hope washes over me and I push myself harder. Rory stumbles on the rough terrain and almost drops his passengers, but thankfully recovers just in time. The rain is soon coming down in torrents, so hard that I can barely see three feet in front of me. Rory and Sage are still next to me but Caspian and Jules are nowhere in sight. The rest of the group had gone ahead when they stopped to look for me, so hopefully they are safely at the campsite.

My boots are soaking wet and my legs are shivering but the raincoat is doing its job and repelling the water. Still holding tightly to Rosa's hand I move closer to Rory, "Are we almost there?" I ask loudly.

"I don't know!" He yells back through the wind and rain. Hopefully the rain is keeping the rest of the tributes away, a fight in all of this would not be pretty. Suddenly lightening strikes a nearby tree behind us and it crashes to the ground, almost immediately erupting into flames. My legs pumping I pull us along, Rory following closely behind me now. Sparks are flying everywhere and burning through the wet leaves beneath our feet.

Then all the memories from the time when Rory and I spent the day in the woods outside District 12 and it began to rain and there was a forest fire and the electricity in the fence, spending the night in the cave and our families being so worried about us. It is almost exactly the same except there is more than just an old electric fence keeping us from going home, and this time all but one of us will die.

Shaking the thoughts from my head I keep going, my legs feel like they could fall off and all I want to do is curl up in a ball and go to sleep but I keep telling myself to keep going and for the moment it's working, but we can't go on forever.

Suddenly I hear Rory's voice, faint but clear enough to understand, "Prim! I see a light! Come on we're almost there!" He is now ahead of me, Sage still clinging desperately to his back. "Okay! I'm right behind you!" I call back. Rosa never says a word during the whole ordeal, I can tell that she is trying to be strong a brave, even for a girl barely twelve years old.

About two minutes later the light gets stronger and I can just make out a person and a tent. Then I see the face of the person in a flash of lightening and I scream for Rory to stop, that it's a trap but he doesn't hear me in time. The man, I don't know who he is yet, grabs them both roughly and drags them into one of the tents.

"Rosa," I say sternly, "I'm going to help Rory, I need you to get out of here to safety, tell Caspian that we need help."

"I'll try." She says, and without another word, turns on her heal with newfound energy and in just a few seconds is completely out of sight. Thankfully nobody has spotted me so I have the element of surprise. Taking off my backpack I push it into some nearby bushes so that the 'enemies' don't get their hands on it; then I string an arrow on my bow, pointing it in front of me, ready to shoot anyone who comes in my way or tries to hurt me or my friends. The rain is beginning to slow down a bit but doesn't look like it'll be stopping anytime. I wonder why Rory and Sage weren't killed immediately and only brought into the tent; don't get me wrong I'm so glad that they weren't hurt but I still have to wonder. It is beginning to get dark outside, partly from the rain and dark clouds and also because it is coming on to evening. Suddenly remembering about my night vision glasses I retrace my steps backwards to the bush where I left the backpack to get them, but before I get there the same young man that captured Rory and Sage exits the tent where they are being held and looking around his eyes land on me. Trembling like a leaf I point the arrow directly at his heart, not wanting to kill a person but at the same time trying to save my friends.

"Now what have we got here." He smirks and begins walking slowly towards me. I begin shaking even more hold the bow and arrow as steady as I can. "The little girl has come to save her boyfriend, how cute."

"He's not my boyfriend." I say through gritted teeth.

"Well, are you going to kill me or not?" He asks evilly.

"I won't have to if you just give me my friends and let us go." I say evenly. "We don't want any trouble.

"Course ya don't, but remember where we are."

"I don't care, I don't want to have to kill anyone."

"I doubt a little flower like you would have the guts to kill anyone." He says smirking again, getting closer and closer to me.

"I will to save those I love." I tell him confidently. Then before I know what's happening he has unsheathed a dagger and comes running towards me, still in perfect range of the arrow, and before I even think what I'm doing I let go and watch in horror as my arrow goes flying towards him and sticks right above his heart. He lets out a cry of shock and pain and falls to the ground. His canon goes off a minute later and I am just about to rescue Rory and Sage when Enobaria exits another tent.

"Well, well. We meet again." She sneers, her capitol made fangs gleaming in the twilight, giving the woman a scary look. He shoulder is wrapped up in bandages but she doesn't seem to be in any pain. I swear these old victors are immune to any kind of pain, emotional and physical, well except maybe for Finnick and Annie, they're different.

"Hello." I say, taking a deep breath, trying my best to sound brave and indifferent to her. "How is your shoulder?"

She shrugs, "Nothing but a little scratch. Now, what are you doing here sweetie?" She asks in a sickly sweet voice.

Well two can play this game, "Oh nothing, just an evening stroll through the forest." I smile back. I have to wonder why she isn't just killing me right away; even with an injury I am no match for the victor. My question is answered when arms wrap around me from behind and my bow is wrenched roughly from my grip. I look into my captors face to see that it is the boy from District 7. He is around 16 and I think his name is Dayo. He is at least a foot and a half taller than me, with dark skin and piercing black eyes. It is surprising that someone like Enobaria, victor from 2, is allied with a young boy from 7, but then again these entire games have been way different than they usually are.

"Take her to the prisoner tent until I find it convenient to kill her, because she is going to suffer for what she did." Enobaria smirks and walks away. Throwing my bow and quiver of arrows on the ground, Dayo picks me up, slinging me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I scream and pound on his broad back, trying to get him to let me go, but he has an iron grip on my legs and nothing I do did any good. He brings me into the tent where Rory and Sage are tied up back to back and after throwing me onto the ground beside them he grabs some rope and proceeds to tie my wrists and ankles securely.

I don't say anything and neither does he, I'm finished trying to act tough and just allow the silent tears to fall. He is soon finished and takes his leave, zipping the tent closed.

"Prim you should have run when you had the chance!" Rory scolds me in a loud whisper.

"I couldn't let you die!" I reply. "Besides, I got down one of the guys, the one that put you two in here."

"You killed him?" Sage shrieks.

"Yes, I had to, he was going to kill me!"

"It was necessary." Rory says gravely. Sage lies down somewhat awkwardly then and falls almost instantly to sleep.

"Did Rosa get away?" He asks.

I nod, "She is going to bring help, don't worry we're going to get out."

"Yeah, if they don't kill us first." I don't realize until now how wet I am and I begin to shiver with cold. Rory notices this and scoots closer to me. I lean my head on his shoulder and whisper, "I miss home."

"Me too Prim, but don't worry, you'll see District 12 again." I fall asleep before I can comprehend the full meaning of his words.

**So there it is…I hope you all enjoyed it and sorry for the minor cliffhanger ;)**

**Please don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you thought of it!**

**Until next time…**

**~FirePearl**


	20. Take Me

_**Holá! Here I am with another chapter! Thanks so much for the reviews for the last one, so glad to know that people are enjoying this story **_

_**This is a pretty action packed chapter, and just to warn you it might get a little gory so consider yourselves warned ;)**_

_**I hope you like it!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Chapter 20**_

I wake up with sore and stiff limbs the next morning. During the night my head must have fallen from Rory's shoulder to his lap and now he is laying on his back in a somewhat uncomfortable position. Sage is still sleeping in the same spot as last night and looking around me I realize where we are and that we have yet to be rescued.

With great difficulty I sit up and try to stretch my arms and legs, getting the feeling back in my wrists and ankles. Rory wakes up a few moments later and I help him sit up beside me.

"Hey." He whispers, "How are you doing?" I shrug, "As good as can be expected. I'm a little numb though."

Rory stretches and nods, "Yeah, me too."

"I really hope that Rosa got away safely and that we'll be rescued soon." I say quietly.

"You and me both Prim." We sit side by side in silence for the next five minutes or so. Our prison tent is mostly dark so it could still be nighttime for all we know. Our questions are answered a few minutes later when the tent is unzipped and a little light streams in, making all of us squint our eyes to be able to see.

"Rise and Shine!" A deep voice says sarcastically. When he comes into the light I recognize him as the boy who caught me and brought me to the tent last night, Dayo I think. I give him my best glare but he just smirks and ducking his head, enters the tent and stands in front of us.

"Time to go." He says gruffly, reaching down to untie Rory's bonds first, then mine, then after shaking Sage, roughly unties her as well.

"Where are you taking us?" I ask, my voice quivering slightly.

"Just outside." He replies then keeps his mouth shut after that. I grab Sage's hand once we are close enough, then Dayo herds us three prisoners out into the bright sunlight, where Enobaria and the rest of her group stands, all grinning evilly. My resolve and bravery all melts away instantly when my eyes fall on the terrible weapons that they carry, armaments meant to torture innocent children like us.

"All yours." Dayo smirks again and gives us each a push towards the group where we stand staring at each other. I move closer to grab Rory's hand as well, wanting to be with him during our last moments of life.

"Now." One of the older women sneers. "Whom shall we begin with?"

"I'd like to start with the girls' two friends, just to let her suffer while we kill them." Enobaria replies, pointing at Rory and Sage who is near tears.

All color drains from my face and I feel as though I might faint. I squeeze Rory's hand almost to the point of pain but I don't want to let him go, not now, not ever. Enobaria signals to two of the big men on either side of her and they immediately come towards us.

"You don't have to obey her." Rory shouts bravely, standing as tall as a fourteen-year-old can. "Just let us go, we never meant any harm, please."

"Sorry kid." One of them says and looks genuinely sorry.

"Well, well, since you're so bold how about I start with you." Enobaria snickers and the other man grabs Rory by the arms, wrenching him from my grasp and dragging him to stand in front of Enobaria. I hold onto Sage's tiny hand like it's a lifeline and try to steady my breathing as Enobaria unsheathes the same dagger that she was going to end my life with. Only this time I've given up on being rescued although I still haven't accepted that these monsters will make me watch as they torture and kill my best friend. I can only hope that Hazelle is taking Vick and Posy out of the room right about now.

"…I began with your girlfriends pretty little face but never got to finish." I turn my attention back to Enobaria's voice. "Now, where should I start with you?" Rory shrugs and tries to act indifferent, but I can tell that he is as afraid as I am.

"Oh I know, how about your hand since you'll never be holding hers anymore." The woman sneers and grabs his wrist, lifting his hand up for inspection. "Yes, that's exactly what I am going to do." Rory's face goes deathly pale as Enobaria slices the knife across his palm drawing blood immediately. He winces but doesn't cry out, not wanting to give them that satisfaction.

Enobaria grins and after dragging the dagger diagonally over his palm she does the same vertically. I wince as she does this and hold my free hand over Sage's eyes so that she doesn't have to watch.

"Hurt yet?" Enobaria asks. In response Rory just shakes his head fiercely and locks eyes with me.

His lips are slowly moving like he is trying to communicate with me. It takes a second of intense concentration before I understand.

_Run. Get away._

I shake my head, telling him that I will not just leave him to die, we're supposed to protect each other and I intend to do just that. Then I get an idea, so while the bad guys attention is on Rory I put my plan into action. What is surprising is that they don't have a guard beside us, just our luck.

I bend down and without trying to be too obvious I whisper in Sage's ear.

"Sage, listen closely. The others are distracted and I want you to run, go find the others and send help." I say as quietly as I can.

"But what about you?" She asks, her voice quivering.

"I'll be fine, but we need help, so I need you to go now." She nods understandably and after I give her a gentle push she sprints off into the woods so quietly that no one even looked up.

I glance at Rory now who is deathly pale. His right hand is spilling blood and isn't even recognizable with all the cuts on his palm and fingers.

"That's good for now." Enobaria smirks, enjoying the feeling of having even an innocent boy at her mercy for her to play with. Her capitol made fangs gleam in the morning sun making her look even more evil and scary. The group around her doesn't do anything to stop or help her with her work but just stand there watching, some are smiling and others are frowning.

"Now, the other hand." She drops Rory's blood covered hand and picks up his other one. Rory is shaking with fear now, no longer trying to hide that he is absolutely terrified, and it doesn't help that he looks as though he could faint at any time now from pain and loss of blood.

Enobaria makes a nice long slit down his left palm causing Rory to cry out, but this just makes her smile and do it again. Over and over she cuts his poor hand, making my tears fall in sympathy for him and anger for her. Then when she deems it sufficiently damaged she drops it, letting the hand hang limply at his side.

"Now for your face." Enobaria leers and after cleaning her dagger lifts it up, the warm sun glimmering off the metal blade. She is just about to slash his perfectly smooth cheek that I have kissed endless times, when I lose my resolve to do anything rash and scream at the top of my lungs.

"STOP! Please stop hurting him. Take me instead!" Enobaria looks at me but doesn't lower the knife.

"Don't worry dearie, your time will come soon enough. I'm not finished with your friend quite yet."

"Please." I plead, coming a little closer. I still have a small dagger in my boot that Caspian gave me for emergencies and I'm hoping, that if I can get close enough to the evil woman that I can run her through. I don't know if I'll be able to actually kill someone, but I'm hoping that I can when the time comes.

"You're just as bad as the capitol!" I yell at her. This gets her full attention and Rory's too. He is shaking his head slowly, warning me not to badmouth the capitol when they can hear every word I am saying and could end my life and second, but I don't stop.

"You think they are bad for hosting the games to kill innocent children every year when you actually enjoy it yourself! How can anyone no matter how evil, torture an innocent kid who has done nothing to deserve it?"

"But you aren't innocent dearie." She replies hoarsely. "Don't you remember where I got this from?" She points to her bandaged shoulder.

"I was trying to save myself, and I barely grazed you, it's not the same!" My voice is beginning to crack but I stay strong.

"Please, just leave us alone, or let Rory go but take me."

Enobaria seems to ponder this proposal for a minute before lowering her dagger.

"Fine, you can go, but if I see you again you'll be dead before you can scream." She relents angrily. I smile and rush over to Rory, supporting his form and ripping the end of my shirt to wrap his bloodied hands. We are just walking away and about to enter the woods when I hear that dreaded voice once again.

"Wait a minute! Where do you think you are going? Remember our deal? He goes. You stay." I gulp and slowly turn around.

"Okay." I squeak and letting go of Rory I shove him gently to the woods.

"No Prim." He whispers pleadingly.

"I have to." I reply sadly.

"Remember on the train before we came here how I told you that I wouldn't let you die for me?" He asks. I nod solemnly.

"Well I don't intend to break that promise just because I'm hurt."

"Please don't make this harder than it already is." I say quietly. "Just go."

"Fine, but I'm not going to let you die Prim. I promise."

"I love you Rory." I say, giving him a small smile.

"I love you too Prim." And with that he hobbles away into the woods. I stand there watching until he is completely gone and don't turn back until I hear her voice.

"Well wasn't that just touching." She spits.

"No, come here girl." With my head down I slowly approach her, finally accepting that I will die. The good thing is that I'll get to see Katniss again, and Peeta too. Maybe that's what Haymitch and all of them meant, that when I die I'd see them again. I tell myself that but still can't bring myself to actually believe it.

I am now standing in front of Enobaria, trying my best to glare at her but failing miserably.

"Now, I think I begin where I left off last time." She smiles, running a long pointed finger down the cut she left on my cheek. "Yes, that's exactly what I'll do." She muses to herself. "You can all leave us alone now." She commands her allies and they all immediately scurry away like frightened animals. "You're all mine." She sneers, making my blood turn cold. She has lifted her dagger once more and just as it descends onto my cheek I retrieve my own small dagger and plunge it into her abdomen. I get a small cut in the process but definitely not as bad as what I did to her.

Enobaria screams and stumbles back. She yanks the dagger out, throwing it onto the ground in front of me, then clutches her hands over her stomach, trying desperately to staunch the bleeding. No one comes to her aid, some allies, I think to myself.

Taking one last look at the woman I hurry away, stopping to pick up my pack along the way. I follow the drops of blood through the forest and soon find Rory lying facedown on the ground. I immediately drop to my knees and get some bandages and medicine out of the backpack. With what strength I have left I roll him over and begin to work on his hands. They are even worse up close but I swallow back my fear and slowly begin to stich up the mangled flesh, then once I'm finished I wrap both his hands up securely in bandages.

There is no way that I'd be able to carry him back to camp, so after pulling him off the trail into some bushes I lay his head on my lap and wait to be rescued.  
I must have fallen asleep because I am suddenly jerked awake by the sound of many feet rushing past. I tentatively peek out of the bushes and to my surprise find that it is Caspian, Jules and Aster that are running by.

"Guys! Over here!" I call and they stop immediately.

"Oh goodness, we were so worried about you Prim!" Caspian says bending down to give me a hug. "Is he alright?" Jules inquires, gesturing to the pale, sleeping Rory.

"He'll be okay in time." I reply.

"We saw Enobaria, she's dead." Aster tells me.

"Oh good." I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Let's get you two back to camp now, I'm sure you've had enough excitement for one morning." Caspian says, picking up my pack while Aster lifts Rory into his arms and off of my lap.

"Oh good, I'm starved." I reply and the three of them chuckle quietly.

Jules helps me up then our small group makes its way back to camp**, **and of course food.

_**So, what did you think? It sure was a fun chapter to write, sorry it was kinda short though...**_

_**Well I won't be updating until probably next week, Friday is my Birthday so I'll be busy **__** In your review you can guess my age! (unless you already saw it in my profile) lol.**_

_**Thanks again for reading and please review!**_

_**Until next time!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	21. Hunting Partners

_**Hello! I'm back! Sorry it's been at least a week but as you know I've been busy **____** Just in case you were wondering I had a pretty awesome birthday!**_

_**Thanks to all of you who left a review for the last chapter, this one will be more of a filler but I though it'd be fun **___

_**Special thanks to: aly-hungergames; samiesimpson1; sweetStarre123; HGFan4719; FearlesswithHimJC; charliesunshine; canadianboy98; and Wolfheart4 for reviewing the last chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_**Chapter #21**_

It didn't take long for us to get back to camp in the summer section of the arena. When we did Sage and Rosa came running towards us and each gave me a big hug. I congratulated them on getting away and sending help, not mentioning that they were almost too late. Rory was still unconscious so Jules took him to the medical tent and I immediately got to work. His hands weren't really bleeding anymore but I changed the bandages anyway and rubbed some ointment on the wounds. He still didn't wake up after I was finished so I just lied down beside him and drifted off to sleep.

When I awake Rory is still asleep but everyone is hanging out in the morning air, sharpening weapons and just chatting.

"How many are left?" I ask once I am outside with the rest of our group.

"Let's see." Caspian muses and begins counting on his fingers. "Nine were killed in the blood bath. When we were attacked 6 died, then when Carissa died so did one other girl from District 3. Brutus and Enobaria are both dead and also the man from District 6. I think that's all so far."

"Wow, so many." I say quietly.

"Yes. Twenty dead." Caspian replies. "But there are many more to go."

"Twenty-five to be exact." Jules announces while sharpening his knife."

"So what exactly are the plans for today?" I ask curiously.

Caspian shrugs, "No plans, but I'm sure something will come up later on."

"Yeah, I guess." I reply and sit down on a stump. Sage and Rosa are nearby picking flowers like normal young girls, Ruby is sharpening some sort of weapon and Finnick and Annie are chatting on a boulder a few yards away. I wish that we could all just be normal friends, camping in the woods and not have to sharpen weapons and be ready to kill or protect yourself or your friends at any time of day. I really hate it! I hate the capitol for doing this to us, I hate that I could lose one of my friends any day, and I hate President Snow for killing my sister, Peeta, my Dad and leaving my mom alone. I'm so full of hatred right now that I feel a strong need to hit something, but I restrain myself because of everyone around.

All of a sudden the atmosphere is darkened by heavy black clouds overhead, signaling that rain will be soon to follow.

"We're going to need to move camp!" Caspian shouts to everyone. "We have to outrun the storm or everything will be flooded and useless." We all nod and immediately begin packing up as quickly as possible. Thankfully many hands make quick work so it doesn't take long. By the time we are finished packing fat raindrops are already slowly beginning to fall. Rory was awoken by all the commotion and is able to walk but doesn't carry a backpack because that would only slow him down even more. In only ten minutes we have all 4 tents packed into backpacks, the fire put out and the rest of the supplies on the strongest backs.

I take Rosa's hand and Ruby takes Sage's since my other arm is linked with Rory's.

"So where are we headed?" I ask Finnick who is helping Annie with something.

"Probably to the autumn section since it is the closest and I'm guessing it isn't raining there." He replies, not even looking up.

"Either that or it sure won't be raining in the winter section but there will most definitely be snow there." Gloss adds.

"Autumn it is." Caspian announces and we begin walking quickly through the forest. "And maybe if we're close enough to the winter boarder but not exactly in the snow then hopefully the rain doesn't follow."

"I sure hope so." I say quietly, mostly to myself. I really don't remember it raining this much in the summer back home; it was usually in the spring that it rained the most. But the game-makers can do whatever they want with the weather just to make it worse for the live tributes.

"You think they could be trying to bring us towards the other tributes for a fight?" I hear Cashmere ask her brother. Gloss shrugs, "That sure is possible, but I guess we'll find out." The rain is coming down harder now but not as hard as last time. I pull my hood over my head, shielding my face from the cold water as best I can.

"We need to move faster I we're going to make it!" Finnick shouts over the sound of rain pouring down on us. He has Annie in his arms and a large pack on his back, and he is still in front of the group, I don't know how he does it. Rory seem to have forgotten his hands because he begins pulling Rosa and I along behind us, urging us to push ourselves harder and go faster.

The puddles on the ground are getting larger and beginning to come together, flooding the path in front of us.

"Come on! I think we're almost there!" Gloss calls out and we run faster. Sure enough, about a minute later the rain is beginning to slow and up ahead is a row of colorful trees, marking the entrance to the autumn quarter of the arena. When we cross the line the rain stops completely and we all breathe out a sigh of relief.

"We can set up camp somewhere around here." Caspian declares and everyone just drops their packs on the ground where they are currently standing.

"Or right here is fine." He chuckles and lets his pack fall as well.

The sun is shining down on us, making the few trees around us erupt in beautiful fall colors.

"It's so pretty." Sage says, speaking our thoughts with a smile."

"It sure is." Ruby agrees and gives her a small hug.

Aster, Jules, Caspian, Gloss and Finnick then retrieve the tents and start setting them once again while Cashmere starts a small fire.

"We really could use some meat." Jules says once the first tent is up. "That bird that Prim shot was amazing and I'm really craving some more." I blush at the compliment and decide to speak up, "I'm sure there are plenty of animals here that we could eat, I could go hunting and bring us all back something."

"It's a good idea but you aren't going alone." Caspian tells me firmly.

"Okay, one person can be my hunting partner, but they have to stay very quiet or we'll never shoot anything." I say.

"I'll go." Rory announces.

I shake my head, "Not a good idea Rory, you have to let your hands heal."

"But Prim…" He interjects but I hold up my hand, "No, I'll take someone else, don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Fine." I smile and give him a hug. He hugs back, squeezing me tightly with his arms.

"I'll go with Prim then." Caspian says and Rory gives him a small glare but I don't think Caspian caught it; or if he did he didn't show it.

"Okay then." I agree and pick up my bow and sling the quiver of silver arrows over my shoulder.

"We won't be long. I promise." I assure Rory and with that the two of us set off to collect our next meal. Caspian has a small sword strapped to his side along with a dagger hanging from his belt and some sort of mini gun that supposedly shoots out poisonous darts. We head first into where the trees are denser and leave the rest of the group in the small clearing near the summer/autumn border.

"Do you hunt much?" I ask casually. Caspian shrugs, "No not really. We don't really have woods by us but I fish, and I figure that it's pretty close."

"Oh okay. Well I haven't really had much hunting experience actually but since Katniss taught me a little with the bow and then I practiced a lot during training it's kind of become my weapon of choice." I tell him.

"Well you are pretty good at it." Caspian smiles as we walk side by side.

"Thanks." I say blushing slightly, hopefully he doesn't notice. In the woods in the autumn area there aren't as many trees like there was over in the summer but I'm still hoping to find some edible game for our meal tonight, and also to help out some since I haven't been doing much lately. The trees are literally bursting with colors, brown, red, orange and yellow; it just takes my breath away. I must have stopped to take in the scenery because Caspian waves his hand in front of my face playfully. "Earth to Prim! Where are you?"

I smile and end up blushing again but this time from embarrassment, "Sorry, I was admiring the scenery."

"It is breathtaking isn't it?" He agrees.

"It sure is. I wish that I could just capture it and keep the picture in my mind forever."

"Yeah. That'd be nice." We continue walking once again, keeping our eyes and ears open, weapons at the ready.

"So how do you know what you can eat and what could be poisonous?" Caspian asks a few minutes later.

"I don't really, I guess we just hope that whatever kill doesn't kill us. Although it'll happen sooner or later." I add in a much quieter tone. Apparently Caspian didn't hear the last part so we just keep going in silence.

Suddenly I hear the sound of crunching leaves. At first I panic because it could be a tribute, but then as I listen more intently I realize that the tread is too light to be a human and is probably some sort of animal.

"Hear that?" I whisper and Caspian nods in reply. My bow is strung with an arrow and Caspian has his sword in hand just in case I don't loose my arrow quick enough. I'm thankful that I have someone with me this time, someone to watch my back, even though it isn't Rory, I think that if we were under different circumstances that Caspian and I could have been great friends. The crunching gets louder and a few seconds later a tall buck has made its appearance. Deer must walk lightly because a big one like this can easily weigh more than a man. The buck has a pretty large rack and is quite a beautiful animal. He hasn't noticed Caspian nor I, yet, but before he can get away I release my arrow somewhat regretfully and it flies straight into the heart of the deer. Caspian looks at me and grins. "This is sure going to taste good tonight!"

"Yeah." I agree. "If we can get it back."

"Oh, right." He chuckles. "I guess we could try dragging it my the rack and if that doesn't work one of us can stay here and the other can get the guys to help."

"Okay sounds good." I grasp one side of the great horn rack of the buck and Caspian the other end. It is surprisingly not that heavy but it definitely slows us down, a lot.

"This isn't looking familiar." I say a little while later.

"Well I'm pretty sure this is the way we came."

"Okay." Just then a loud noise is heard and we both look at each other

"What is that?" I ask fearfully. Caspian grins, "That, Prim, is the sound of a waterfall."

"Really?" I squeal.

"Sure is. Want to check it out?" He asks. I nod excitedly.

"Okay, well let's put the deer in these bushes here until we get back." Together we drag the deer into the bushes and after covering it up we sprint off in the direction of the sound of the waterfall. It gets louder the closer we get but not too loud. When we arrive at our destination my jaw literally falls open. A small waterfall cascading over a pile of rocks and emptying into a smallish pool.

"It's amazing." I breathe.

"It sure is." Caspian agrees standing beside me. "Hey, I have an idea!"

"What?" I eye him suspiciously.

"Well remember you told me that you don't know how to swim, and I promised I'd teach you…"

"Yeah, oh no, not now!" I say, backing away as I realize what his idea is.

"We don't have time to play around Caspian!"

"Oh come on, I know you want to."

"No, I don't." I back away even more.

"Please Prim, it'll be fun!" He pleads.

"I don't know…"

"Come on, I be there the whole time. I won't let you drown." He assures me.

"I would hope not!" I reply laughing.

"Just a few minutes." He promises and begins unzipping his jacket. I sigh and hesitantly follow suit. We each take off our jackets and long-sleeves, and also our pants as well since we have a pair of legging type pants underneath. Caspian goes shirtless but being the modest girl I am and remembering that this is being aired all over Panem, I keep my undershirt on. My mom is probably freaking out right now but I decide that I'd like to have just a little fun since it could be my only chance and with that thought in mind I step into the warmish water. Caspian is already far enough out that the water is up to his chest.

He grins, "Come on Prim! The waters great!"

"Be patient." I call back and very slowly let the water come up to my ankles, then my knees and finally stop when the water is up to my waist. Caspian swims lazily over to me, sighing in contentment as the water flows over his body.

"Doesn't it feel amazing?"

"It does feel pretty nice." I agree.

"Man, I've missed the water."

I gradually get more and more used to the water and about half an hour later I have floating mastered and a while later I can sort of swim on my back. It really does relax your muscles and calms your body.

"We should probably start drying off." Caspian says sometime later.

"Yeah, you're probably right." I sigh and swim back to shore.

"Thanks, that was really fun." I tell him sincerely.

"I knew you'd enjoy it." He smiles and slips his shirt back on. Just then the sound of a canon booms nearby that makes us both jump. Our eyes meet and I'm sure the same thing is going through our heads, _Someone close by, just died._

_**I know, cliffhanger but I had to have some excitement in this chapter! Lol Sorry for any mistakes but I had to go to bed and didn't have time to go through it…**_

_**Thanks so much for reading and please leave a review! They mean a lot to me **____** Until next chapter!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	22. The Fight

_**Holá mis amigos! Here I am with another early-ish chapter for you all. I have to warn you though it had quite a bit of killing in it though **____** Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews for the last chapter! I don't really have anything else to say so you can just start reading, Hope you enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games**_

_**Chapter #22**_

Last Time~_ "Thanks that was really fun." I tell him sincerely. "I knew you'd enjoy it." Caspian smiles and slips his shirt back on. Just then the sound of a canon booms nearby that makes us both jump. Our eyes meet and I'm sure the same thing is running through our heads: _Someone just died.

Putting on my clothes as quickly as I can I grab Caspian's hand and together we sprint through the woods back to the camp, completely forgetting about the deer. With our current pace we arrive at the camp in record time. Just as we are entering another canon erupts causing my breath to get caught in my throat. I take a few seconds to survey the area. Tributes running everywhere, blood splattered in different places on the ground and two dead tributes lying nearby. From where I am standing, still clutching Caspian's hand, I can't tell who the dead are; I can only hope that one of them isn't Rory.

"Stay here, I'm going to help." Caspian commands, taking me away from my thoughts. I nod without really thinking and watch as he unsheathes his sword and runs right in the midst of the fighting. Jules is currently battling an older man but is obviously winning, I see Ruby with her arms around Rosa holding her tightly next to a tree, then I realize that Sage isn't with them. I try and steady my heart and not panic. _She's fine, I'm sure she's just hiding behind a tree somewhere._ I assure myself but find it hard to believe. I then take a minute to examine the smaller fallen tribute: the long brown wavy hair and small body definitely belonging to Sage. I choke down the tears that are threatening to fall as my eyes move to the other tribute lying deathly still on the ground.

Keeping my eyes and ears on the alert I begin to slowly move towards the fallen tribute, trying to calm my fears that it is Rory. As I get closer my fears begin to subside when I realize that the body is too large to be Rory. It ends up being the boy from District 3; I never did talk or know him so I don't feel too bad but it still bothers me. He probably had family back home, parents that are mourning his death, brothers and sisters too. Maybe even a girlfriend. He wasn't much older than Rory by the looks of him, maybe 16 or 17. I must have been too engrossed in my thoughts that I was oblivious to the goings on around me.

Before I can process what is happening an arrow whizzes towards me and before I am able to move out of the way a body jumps in front of my, the arrow imbedding itself into the tribute's chest. A cry escapes my lips as I recognize my savior. Aster. His breath is coming out in short gasps and I know that he doesn't have long to live. I quickly fall to my knees, "You saved my life." I whisper.

"Just doing my duty." He replies with a small smile.

"Thank you." I tell him sincerely.

"T-take care of her." He says and it takes a moment for me to understand whom he is talking about. But then it registers, Rosa, he wants me to protect Rosa, his district partner.

"I will, I promise." Tears are now running freely down my cheeks but I don't care anymore.

"It was nice knowing you even for a short time Prim." He smiles again then closes his eyes and I know that he is gone, a few seconds later his canon booms.

I hurry back to the safety of the trees once more, tears blinding my vision. I catch Caspian's eye when he looks back to make sure that I'm okay, I give him what I hope is a convincing smile and he smiles back. During everything that has been happening I had completely forgotten that I brought my bow and arrows along with me on our run back here. Glancing behind me I see them and quickly pick them up, loading an arrow at the same time.

Gloss his currently sword fighting another man and Cashmere has just stabbed her opponent, the canon sounding a few seconds later. The dead man who looks quite young, maybe around twenty, dies immediately and Cashmere doesn't even blink and moves on to the next opponent like it's a game.

I catch Annie's reddish hair behind a nearby tree and Finnick fighting someone close to her. I still haven't spotted Rory but I take comfort knowing that he isn't dead, yet. It takes a lot of control to stay where I am, watching and not helping.

Suddenly a boy around Caspian's age comes up behind him and is about to plunge a dagger into his back. But before he has a chance I aim my arrow and it flies and hits the boys right in the neck. He gurgles something then falls to the ground, his canon following right after. Caspian spins around startled, and looks at the dead boy then the arrow protruding from his neck, then up at me. He mouths a 'thank you' and I just nod in return.

Everything seems to go pretty quickly after that, no more canons are heard and the fighting begins to slow down. I notice a younger girl running off into the woods away from the fighting but I don't bother shooting, I've already taken a life today and watched many others. The wounded hobble off probably to die a slow and painful death and once only the tributes from our alliance are left I run out from my hiding quickly followed by Annie who immediately falls into Finnick's arms, and Rosa with Ruby who is still holding her hand. Rosa drops down next to her fallen friend, sobbing hysterically and telling her not to go. And if that wasn't enough for a little girl, she spots Aster next and the sobs come even harder.

"He saved my life." I whisper, crouching down beside her and rubbing her back soothingly.

"Really?" She asks, looking up at me. I nod and give her a hug.

"And he made me promise that I would take care of you."

"He's always been like my older brother, real protective and sweet." Rosa tells me while stroking her dead friend's pale cheek.

"Okay everyone we need to pack up and get out of here so the hovercrafts can pick up the dead." Caspian shouts to the scattered live tributes. Sullenly they begin packing everything up, trying not to look at the dead.

Once Rosa moves away from Aster's limp body I realize that I have yet to find Rory.

"Caspian!" I call out and run over to him. "Have you seen Rory anywhere?" He nods, "Yeah, he's over there. Got a wound on his leg but otherwise alive." Caspian tells me, pointing to the back of one of the tents.

"Thanks." I say and am just about to hurry of to find my friend when I notice a long jagged cut from the side his forehead down across his cheek.

"Here, let me clean up your face."

Caspian puts his hand on my arm to stop me, "I'll be fine, go help Rory and I promise you will be fixing everyone up once we get a little ways away from here."

"Okay." I agree reluctantly and hurry off to Rory. I find him right where Caspian told me I would and he looks okay except for a nasty cut across his lower thigh above his left knee.

"Prim!" He cries out and I smile and run over to him.

"Oh thank God you're alright." He says, stroking my cheek with his still bandaged hands.

"Not a scratch." I tell him. "But you're another story."

"I'm fine, really Prim." He says weakly.

"Yeah, sure you are. I don't have time to wrap you up right now but I will as soon as we set up camp. Caspian said that we need to move so that the hovercrafts can pick up the dead."

"How many?" He asks hesitantly.

"Five I think."

"Anyone from us?"

"Yeah." I swallow to prevent the tears from coming again.

"Who?"

"Aster and Sage."

"How?"

"Aster jumped in front of me to save me from an arrow and Sage was gone when Caspian and I arrived."

"Oh." Is all he says.

"Okay, we need to go now." I tell him and start to stand up. "Need some help?"

Rory shakes his head, "Nah, I think I'm fine." I smirk, "If you were fine you wouldn't be lying here."

He pushes himself up with his arms but as soon as he applies and pressure to his left leg he cries out in pain and lifts it from the ground.

"Now do you need any help?" I ask. He sighs, "Sure, thanks Prim."

"Hey, what are friends for?" He smiles and I put an arm around his middle. It takes the two of us some time to get to the rest of the group, but when we do, Gloss who seems to be fine, offers to take over. Rory seems hesitant at first, "Don't worry, I don't bite." The young man smirks and swoops the younger up into his arms like he didn't weigh more than a feather. Cashmere hands me the medical pack then and we all set off.

"Okay, we don't need to go far, just out of sight from this area." Finnick announces.  
Our group seems small now with Sage and Aster gone. Ruby is still attached to Rosa so I don't have to worry about the younger girl and Rory seems to be in good hands so I don't have to worry, for now. But who am I kidding? In the Hunger Games you live with a constant fear until you die. We walk slowly because of the injured tributes but after about forty-five minutes we arrive at another relatively large clearing surrounded in colorful trees and a layer of dried leaves covering the ground.

"We can set up camp here." Finnick says and everyone lets out and audible sigh of relief and drop their packs.

"Let's set up the medical tent then Prim can tend to the more serious wounds." Caspian announces while looking at me. I roll my eyes but don't question his decision. I know there are probably more serious injuries than the cut on his face, like Rory's leg, but I can't help wanting to fix it up. Gloss, Caspian and Ruby quickly set up my 'work' tent, apparently Jules is also hurt, his arm I think. Five minutes later the small tent is up and stable. Rosa helps Ruby lay out the sleeping bags as mats to soften up the hard ground a bit and after that is finished all who are injured and need treatment head inside. I don't have many medical supplies left but I guess I'll just have to make do with what I have.

Jules and Rory come in first, then Cashmere who only has a small scratch on her shoulder. I fix up Rory's leg first since it is the most severe. I have to rip his pants to properly stitch up the wound; he winces at the pain but doesn't cry out. I bandage his thigh up tightly then re-sew his pants together so that he doesn't get cold at night.

Next I go to Jules who has a cut, most likely from a sword, on his arm. It isn't deep enough to need stitching for which I am thankful, so I just dab a tiny bit of our precious cream to prevent infection then after cutting a strip of bandage I wrap it around his arm and tie the knot at the end.

"There, good as new." I say, patting his arm.

"Thanks Prim." He smiles and walks out.

I leave Rory to rest his leg and scoot over to where Cashmere is. I guess growing up in District one they are used to being tended too even if they seem tough and unbeatable.

"Now where's the cut?" I ask. Cashmere takes off her long-sleeve and is left in her undershirt, she then gestures to the small wound on her shoulder.

"Oh good, it's not too serious." I say and she just shrugs, not saying anything. I wipe away the little bit of dried blood then put a bandage on it, about two minutes I'm all finished and she puts her shirt back on.

"Thanks." She says quietly and then she also gets up and leaves and I am left alone with an already sleeping Rory. Then I realize that Caspian has not made an entrance yet so that I can get a look at his face.

"Stubborn kid." I mutter under my breath and step outside. Caspian is sitting on a stump conversing with Jules about something or other. He sees me and gives me a little wave. I don't wave back but stalk over to him.

"Come on, you're supposed to let me look at the cut on your face, we don't want it getting infected." I tell him sternly as soon as I am standing directly in front of him. Jules chuckles beside him and I give him a glare. He then puts his hands up in mock surrender, "Yeah Cas, you should let Prim look you over. She does a good job." He points to his bandaged arm.

"Fine, fine!" Caspian laughs and stands up. "I'll be back in a few."

Jules waves his arm, "Take your time." I roll my eyes again and Caspian follows me back to the medical tent.

"Why don't you want me to help you?" I ask once we're inside. I keep my voice low since Rory is still sleeping.

"It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I didn't think it was too serious." He defends.

"Well you obviously haven't look in a mirror lately. Besides, Cashmere's was a lot less serious than yours and she still came."

"Okay, okay I give up!" He chuckles. "Now fix me all up."

I smile shyly and open up the backpack again. I get out the damp rag and gently wipe away the dried blood all along the cut. He winces slightly at the contact but doesn't say anything.

"It doesn't look like it needs stitching and you probably don't want a huge bandage on your face so I'll just clean it up and hopefully that'll be enough."

"Aw shucks. If I had the stitches it'd make me look tougher."

"I can give you stitches if you want, but I gotta warn you, it'll hurt like hell, especially because it's on your face."

"No, no just do whatever it was you were going to do. I don't feel like pain right now."

I chuckle to myself and get to work. I smear a little of the cream along the cut after most of the blood is gone.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" I say smiling.

"Nah, it was fine." Caspian replies. "Thanks Prim. I don't know what we'd do without you."

"No problem, glad I can help."

We both head back outside and leave Rory to his slumber. The sun is beginning to go down and Finnick and Annie have made a small fire to cook our dinner.

"We found this freshly shot deer not to far from here and thought we could eat it." Finnick is telling Jules and Ruby. I look at Caspian and he grins, "Guess we get to have deer tonight after all."

I smile back, "Guess so!"

_**So what did you think? Not a very good place to end it but there wasn't much else to write for this chapter without making it boring. At least it's not short!**_

_**So yeah poor little Sage is dead, we all knew it'd happen sooner or later though, even though it is really sad! What did you think about Aster? **_

_**Please tell me what you thought! Sorry for any mistakes!**_

_**Thanks for reading and pretty please leave a review!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	23. The End of The Beginning

_**Hey! I'm back! Sorry it's been a while, but I've been busy. But here is another chapter for all of you lovely readers. Be ready to cry, but this chapter will be a big turning point in the story, and Peeta and Katniss will soon be making their appearance! Yay! Thanks: samiesimpson1; sweetStarre123; 1 (Guest); HGFan4719; FearlesswithHimJC; Wolfheart 4 and fuzzysocksandwriting for reviewing the last chapter!**_

_**Hope you like it!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Chapter #23**_

The deer turned out to be delicious and even after the entire group had had their fill there were still leftovers that Finnick wrapped up tomorrow's dinner.

"Okay, Finnick and Annie will take the first watch then we'll switch and Jules and Ruby can take their turn." Gloss announces to us all. Everyone nods in agreement and begin to head to their respective sleeping tents. Rory is up and seems to be fine; he is currently sitting beside me, just finishing up his chunk of cooked deer meat.

"Tired yet?" I ask. He shakes his head, "Not really since I took that long nap this afternoon."

"Yeah, I should be tired but I'm not. Want to sit out here for a bit?"

"Sure, we haven't had much time to talk like we always do." Rory says, wiping his hands on his pants and licking his lips.

"I know, I miss it." I reply, reaching over and taking his bandaged hand.

"Me too." He whispers and gives my hand an encouraging squeeze. By this time the area is quiet and Finnick and Annie are currently sitting a few yards away on a large boulder, supposedly keeping watch. The sky is dark but the moon is bright, even a few stars are scattered across the blackness. Suddenly the air turns much colder, we aren't used to it since for the past few days we've been in the summer section of the arena. I can't help but feel bad for those tributes who are stuck in the 'winter'; it's probably quite cold over there.

I shiver slightly and Rory hands me my coat that I had set beside me. He helps me slip it on then once I have zipped it up he slings an arm around my shoulders, giving me some of his body heat.

"Thanks." I say quietly and lean into him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"No problem." I can hear the smile in his voice.

"Not many of us left." I say, just trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, but still a lot that have to die. I mean over half of the tributes are gone already but twenty, more or less, is a lot of lives."

"I know." I murmur. Rory squeezes me tighter and I snuggle closer into his side.

"I've decided that I'm not scared to die anymore." I tell him. "As long as it's quick, then it'll be okay. And I'll get to see Peeta and Katniss again, and you can win." I say the last part much quieter.

Rory doesn't say anything for sometime and I am beginning to think that he fell asleep and a wave of relief washes over me when I realize that maybe he didn't hear what I said, but then his shifts his position and clears his throat.

"I'm glad you aren't afraid to die Prim, but that doesn't mean that I'm just going to let you die so that I can go back home."

"I know." I mutter under my breath.

"But just think Rory. You could go home! And see Gale, Vick, Posy and your mom again! And you could make sure my mom has enough to eat and all that. Your life could be normal again. You'd be rich and live in the victor's village and never have to…" Rory clamps his hand tightly over my mouth and I realize that I almost admitted that we hunt in the forbidden woods of District 12. He slowly releases a few seconds later and I try to pick up where I had left of.

"You'd never have to worry about taking out tesserae or scrounging for food, ever again."

"You don't get it Prim!" He almost yells. "Life would never be the same if you died and I went back home! Of course it'd be nice to see my family again but it'd never be normal." I sit silently taking in what he says but not saying anything. "I love you Prim." He continues in a much quieter tone. "I don't want to have to live without you."

"I'm sorry." Is all I can get out. Rory hugs me and I just slump down into his embrace, trying not to let the tears fall.

"Like I said before we got here Prim: I am not going to let you die so that I can live. I'd rather die than live without you."

"Now you sound like Peeta." I say jokingly, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"What can I say? I know how he feels now!" He chuckles and helps me sit up beside him again.

"Yeah." I say in agreement.

Before we know it, an hour has past and Finnick is guiding a very tired Annie to bed. A few seconds later, Jules and Ruby emerge from one of the tents and take a seat in the same place that Finnick and Annie had been keeping watch.

"Are you tired yet?" Rory asks.

I shake my head, trying not to let out a yawn. "Sure?" I nod and rest my head on his shoulder once more.

"Do you like Caspian?" I sit up straight and look at Rory with surprise when he says this.

"What?" I ask, shocked that he would he even think that.

"Well, do you? Because if you do it's okay with me, I mean I'll always love you but if you like him it's okay. He obviously likes you…" He says this all very quickly and only stops when I put my hand gently over his mouth.

"Rory. I do not _like_ Caspian. He's a good friend, one of the best that I've made during this time. But you know I love you, and that'll never change." Rory lets out an audible sigh of relief, "I'm glad." I just smile into the darkness and lay my head back onto his shoulder.

"I'm sorry if you thought that Rory. I know that I kind of did spend a lot of time with him, but you have to understand that it was only because you weren't well and couldn't hunt or anything like that."

"I know. It's fine, really." He assures me, rubbing my back to keep in the warmth.

"Good." I reply and close my eyes.

I must have fallen asleep out there because the next time I am consciously aware, Rory is carrying me in his arms, back to the sleeping tent. I don't say anything, don't even open my eyes, just snuggle closer into his embrace and fall back asleep.

…

_**Rory Pov**_

I slide Prim gently into the empty sleeping bag next to a sleeping Rosa then climb into the one beside Prim, falling almost instantly to sleep.

I am startled awake by shouting outside and after shaking Prim awake and grabbing my weapons I run out to help. From the looks of it a few of the enemies have decided to ambush our camp. I'm pretty sure we outnumber them still, unless there are more hiding in the trees and bushes waiting for the right time to jump out and kill us all. Finnick pushes Annie into the tent with Rosa and Prim and everyone else hurries out, weapons in hand.

A canon sounds a few seconds later: It is the girl, Willow from District 8. I'm surprised she lasted this long. Caspian is currently battling some guy with a sword and Ruby, Jules, Finnick, Gloss and Cashmere are all out fighting as well. Suddenly a young man rushes towards me, ready to drive his dagger into my heart. I turn around just in time to dodge it and stab my own dagger into his heart. In the moonlight I recognize the face of the boy from District 9. Trying not to let the blood bother me I yank my dagger back out of his body and his canon sounds directly afterwards.

I have just finished cleaning the blade of with a leave when a blond braid flashes by me. Prim. She sends an arrow flying towards a woman from District 6. She lets out a scream of pain and crumples to the ground. A canon booms a few seconds later.

"Prim!" I yell and she turns around.

"You were supposed to stay in the tent!"

"I'm going to fight whether you like it or not!" She calls back and just barely dodges and arrow that could have killed her immediately.

"Please!" I shout to her, my voice faltering. "I don't want you getting hurt!"

"What about you?" She asks, slowly making her way closer to me.

"I'll be fine!"

"What and I won't. Just because I'm a girl Rory…" She isn't left to finish her sentence because a sword has sliced her middle. She falls to the ground with a scream and blood begins pouring from the wound.

"Prim!" I cry and hurry over to her.

"I'm going to die." She whispers.

"No, No you're not!" I tell her firmly. Trying to stop the bleeding with the bandages on my hands.

"It's okay Rory." Prim says weakly, "I'm not afraid."

"I know. I know. But you're going to be okay. You won't die!" I say, tears beginning to form in the corners of my eyes. I wipe them away with my shirtsleeve, trying to stay strong for the dying girl.

"Try to win. For me?" She whispers.

"I will. I promise." I assure her, nodding.

"And take care of mother?" I nod again.

"Thanks Rory. You're the best friend anyone could ever have." Her breathing is coming in short breaths now and the tears are streaming down my cheeks.

"You too Prim." I reply.

"I love you. Don't ever forget that. But don't mourn too long. You grow up and find yourself a pretty girl." She smiles weakly.

"I'll never forget you Prim. I love you too. So very much." She smiles again and closes her eyes. Her breathing slows until it stops altogether. Prim's canon is sounded a minute later, and then the sobs really start to come. I'm not left too much time to cry though since the fight is still going on.

"Who died?" Caspian asks me.

"Prim." I choke out. His face goes pale, "No." He breathes. I nod and point to where her body lies. I watch as he hurries over to her, dropping to his knees beside the dead girl. A few tears fall from his eyes and he bends down, kissing her forehead. Then he too gets up and begins fighting with a newfound anger. Another canon booms as he pulls his sword from a man who didn't even have a chance to blink; District 6.

Then my eyes fall on what I thought I'd never have to see; Caspian, on the ground with an arrow in his chest. I run over to him and crouch down.

"I'll take care of her for you." He whispers then closes his eyes and his canon booms as well. I don't have time to cry for him though and just continue stabbing aimlessly with my dagger.

A few minutes later someone yells, "Retreat!" And the remaining tributes that were fighting against us begin running away through the trees. Annie and Rosa exit the tent a second later and take in the dead.

"Prim!" Rosa screams and rushes over to her friend. She begins sobbing hysterically and Annie has to practically pry the young girl off of her.

"We need to move again so that the hovercrafts can pick up the dead!" Gloss shouts. So once again we pack up the tents quickly and set out on our way. I give Prim one last kiss then turn away before I break down again in front of everyone. As soon as we are out of sights, we hear the hovercrafts arrive probably picking up the dead to be fixed up and buried.

"I'm really sorry." Jules says sympathetically, coming to walk beside me.

"Thanks." I say simply. He just gives me a sad smile and runs to catch up with Ruby. Rosa grabs my hand and gives it a friendly squeeze, looking up into my eyes sadly. She doesn't say anything, but that's the way I like it, silent comfort. We trek through the woods quietly until we come to another clearing where Gloss tells us to set up. Everyone loved Prim, and I can tell that everyone is silently mourning her and Caspian too.

Half an hour later the tents are set back up and the sun is beginning to rise as well. But since none of us slept much last night, Gloss announces that he will keep watch and for the rest of us to get some sleep. The medical tent is kept packed up since we don't have a doctor and it isn't needed since there aren't many of us left.

I climb into a sleeping bag next to Rosa who hasn't left my side, but sleep does not come over me, no matter how tired I am. I can't get Prim's face out of my head. Knowing that tonight was the last time I'd ever talk to her, I'm left with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

_**Yeah, sad I know! Sorry it was kinda short, I tried to make it long but everything just seemed to come out so quickly. Hope you liked it, and I am sure that you have a lot of questions but they should all be answered in the next chapter **___

_**Thanks for reading and please leave a review and tell me what you thought!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	24. The White Room

_**Hey! So when i first uploaded this chapter i accidentally uploading it to 'Always and Forever' instead of this one. I deleted it from that story and it is now fixed, sorry about that and those of you who thought there was a new chapter for the other one :) Hope you enjoy it.**_

_**Chapter #24~Prim's POV**_

The pain in my stomach from where the sword sliced is unbearable. It's hard to breathe and it hurts so badly. Rory notices me right away and hurries over. I tell him to take care of mother and not to forget to me but not to be too sad and never get over me. I tell him for the last time that I love him, then I can't breathe anymore and I think to myself just before I black out: _This must be_ what it feels _like to die. _A few seconds before I fall under unconsciousness I hear a canon and guess that is my own, I hear Rory begin to cry beside me then I'm out.

I open my eyes to find that I am in a pure white room, lying on a bed with white sheets, dressed in a short white gown. My first thought is that I am in heaven but when I try and sit up but find out that I am restrained in 2 places, I know that this is definitely _not_ heaven. My ankles are clamped to the bed but my hands are free so I gently lift up my gown to examine the wound that brought me here. But I am surprised at what I find, not a single scratch is on my body, and the belly wound has completely disappeared and been replaced by pure soft skin.

All my other wounds, no matter how minor are totally healed. Then I realize that this must be the capitol and they must have healed me with their special medicines; which makes me wonder, why am I here and is this what happens to every dead tribute or is it just me. If it is everyone then I'll be seeing Katniss and Peeta soon! Wherever they are, and also Carissa and Sage and Aster and all the tributes that died during not only these games, but also all the other ones. It also means that Brutus and Enobaria will be there, along with the tributes that killed Katniss and Peeta. I'm so scared but equally excited at the same time and I wish that someone would come and release me and let me see them.

I lay there on my back growing more and more impatient with each passing minute. The bright white room is so quiet and dull, I couldn't even count cracks on the ceiling or anything like that because the walls, the ceiling and the floor were all white and no cracks were visible. I'm guessing that the door is camouflaged white like everything else in here, not even a doorknob is visible. If my legs weren't restrained I'd get up and try to find the door but since that is not an option I stop thinking and just close my eyes because the brightness of the room is hurting them.

My fingers absentmindedly make their way up to my neck, feeling for the necklace that Rory gave me as a token in the games. I let out a sigh of relief when I realize that whoever brought me here, left it around my neck. I feel a little better, knowing that my piece of Rory is still with me.

After what seems like only a few seconds, I am startled awake by the sound of an opening door. My eyes open quickly and search around the room to find the source of the noise. Sure enough a woman in a long white gown, pale skin and bleach blond hair is standing to what I assume is the door. She totally blends in with the room and is hard to see clearly.

"You must be Primrose." A high-pitched voice breaks the silence.

"Yes." My own voice comes out as more of a croak from not having been used for sometime. I clear my throat and speak again. "Yes, I am Prim. Would you mind telling me where I am?"

"You my dear are in a underground hospital that no one but the doctor's here, and the president, and possibly and few others, know about." The woman replies.

"Why am I here?" I ask.

"We have healed your wounds and right now I have come to escort you to your knew home."

"To where all the dead tributes go." I say mostly to myself.

"Why yes, how did you know?"

"I figured it out. Don't worry, no one else knows." I assure her. She gives me a small smile and comes to stand next to the hard platform bed that I lay on.

"Well you are a very smart girl."

"Thank you." I whisper meekly and watch intently as she presses something that I had not noticed before in my survey of the room and instantly the metal clamps release my ankles.

"Sorry about that. They make us do this just to keep you here until we can take you to your destination."

"I'm fine." I reply and sit up slowly, rubbing some feeling back into my ankles.

"Now, I'll leave you to get dressed then we'll be on our way." The woman tells me, while leaving a bundle on the bed beside me.

"Thank you." I say and she just nods. "If you don't mind." I begin, just as she reaches the hidden door. She turns around and waits for me to speak. "Um, what is your name?"

"Sara." She replies in a quiet voice.

"Sara, that's a pretty name." I say with a smile.

"Thank you." Sara replies and then exits the room, leaving me with only a bundle of clothing.

With nimble fingers I untie the package and dump the contents to reveal a pair of soft black pants, a light blue flowing long-sleeve and a black jacket. At the bottom was a pair of flat dainty shoes, black with a small blue flower on the top. I am pleased with the clothing I was given, never having had the opportunity to wear such nice clothes. Of course, like everything in the capitol, everything fits perfectly, I wish there was a mirror in this room. Once I am dressed and the hospital gown I had been wearing is folded neatly at the head of the bed, I run my fingers through my hair which has been washed so that it is soft and silky now, and instead of braiding it I leave it down. Five minutes later I decide that I am ready so I make my way to the wall that Sara came through and knock. Almost instantly part of the wall is slid open and Sara enters once again.

"Ready to go?" She asks and I nod. "Follow me." Sara instructs and walks out of the door, me close on her heels. We walk in silence for the next little while, down hallways and up and down flights of stairs until we come to a large metal door with a huge padlock on the doorknob.

"Here we are." Sara announces, extracting a large key from her pocket.

"Where is here?" I ask, a little confused.

"In this room you will be taken down through a tunnel and left in an old arena where all the old tributes have been living." The woman explains.

"So I'll be able to see my sister!" I exclaim and Sara cracks a smile.

"Oh yes. Katniss Everdeen, of course she is your sister, silly me." She chuckles and inserts the key, turning it until the lock clicks and opens. Sara takes the lock off and places it in her pocket, then opens the door, gesturing for me to follow.

The room is quite small, and dark as well. It us entirely empty except for chute like contraption in the middle, almost like a well.

"Now, this is where we part ways." Sara says, giving me a sad smile.

"Thanks." I say. "Oh and if my friend, Rory, dies, let him know right away that I'm not dead."

"Of course dear." She smiles bigger this time and presses a button on the wall. A cylinder type thing comes up out of the well, much like what brought us into the arena, and a door slides open.

"Just climb inside and this will take you to a house built just for the District 12 tributes of the 75th Hunger Games." Sara tells me.

"Wow, made just for me." I breathe out.

"Yep, now just hop inside and you'll be seeing your sister in a matter of minutes. I grin and give her a hug. Sara seems stunned at first, then slowly wraps her arms around me as well, giving me a tight squeeze.

"Will I ever see you again?" I ask hesitantly. "I mean, will we ever get out and be able to go back home?"

"Only if the president's mother somehow dies suddenly." Sara responds.

"The president's mother?" I ask, shocked.

"Yes. Not many people know, a few of the older victor's maybe, that President Snow has been hosting the Hunger Games against his will the whole time. His mother threatens to kill his wife and child and that is what keeps him under her power even though he is the actual president."

"Wow. And all this time we thought that President Snow was the bad guy."

"That's what most people think, and what his mother wants them to think."

"Well I hope she dies soon." I say. "She can't live forever."

"That's what we hope. But she's only lived this long because of certain chemicals she takes to lengthen her life." Sara explains.

"I hope she dies and I can see you again. Wait, do you think you could come visit?"

"I don't know. Only certain people are allowed down there to build new houses and stuff like that, I might be able to make it happen." She says smiling.

"Oh good!" I smile back and give her one last hug.

"Good Bye Prim. It was nice meeting you." Sara says as I step inside of the glass cylinder.

"You too. Bye Sara, see you soon!" She smiles again and gives blows me a kiss while pushing another button that encloses me completely inside the cylinder. I wave to my newfound friend and she waves back, then presses another button that sends me shooting downward. I am going so fast that it only takes about a minute before I am being dropped onto a bed, the ceiling closes back up and I am left totally alone.

Taking in my surroundings I notice two beds side by side, one must me for me, and the other for Rory when he comes, if he comes. He did promise that he'd try to win for me, and I have faith in him that he'll try his best. There are two closets, one on either side of the large bedroom. I walk to the closest one to my bed and open it up. More clothes than I have ever had fill the closet, dresses, skirts, pants, shorts, jackets and shirts along with boots, shoes like the ones I am wearing, and fancy heels as well. I then close the closet door and open the bedroom door revealing a short hallway with doors on either side.

The first door reveals a nice looking bathroom with a bathtub, toilet and sink. The second door that I investigate is the kitchen. Small but will serve its purpose. Checking the cupboards I am happy to find that there is enough food in here to last me a long time. An oven is on one side of the kitchen with a fridge/freezer on the other side. I tell myself that I will make a large meal tonight for dinner.

The next door is just a closet with things like towels and bedding. The last door is at the end of the hallway and leads outside into a street with houses all exactly the same on both sides. On my door four large gold numbers are plastered reading: _**12-75**_, I'm guessing which means, District 12 for the 75th Hunger Games. The other houses also have numbers like mine on their doors beginning with this years tributes and moving on down to a different street to the 74th hunger games. I promise myself that I will visit the girls but my first priority is to find my sister.

I stroll down the street, taking time to look at every gold number and end up finding Carissa's house along the way, and believe me when I say that it takes a lot of control not to march right up to the door and give her a hug.

Finally I come to a different street marked 74th Street, which I am hoping that houses Katniss and Peeta as well. It starts at District 1: Marvel and Glimmer, I think to myself. Then on to District 2: Cato and Clove, and so on and so forth until I find myself at house: _**11-74, **_Rue and Thresh. Rue is probably my age now and I think that she could be great friends with Carissa, Sage and I.

The next house is the one I've been waiting for, _**12-74**_, Katniss's house. I can hardly contain my excitement as I rush up the steps and raise my knuckles to knock on the door. I wait a minute to lower my breathing then rap loudly on the door that looks identical to mine, minus the difference in the last two numbers.

It seems like forever, but is probably only a few moments, before I hear footsteps nearing the door. Another moment and the knob is being turned.

"Katniss! You might want to come to the door!" It is Peeta who answers the door and as soon as he lays his blue eyes on me he calls back inside to Katniss.

"Prim." He says quietly, looking me over. "I can't believe you're here!"

"I know. Me neither Peeta." I say, unable to get rid of the grin on my face. I jump into my arms and he hugs me tightly but promptly sets me down when Katniss's footsteps are heard coming nearer.

"What is it Peeta?" She asks but Peeta doesn't have a chance to answer before she sees me.

"Prim!" She squeals and picks me up, swinging me around on the porch until we're both dizzy.

"I missed you so much Kat." I whisper into her hair while hugging her tightly, not ever wanting to let go.

"I missed you too little duck. And it's been killing me watching you fight for your life, I'm glad that you made some friends though." She says, setting me down gently.

"You can watch the games from here?" I ask excitedly, and Peeta nods.

"Yeah, why?"

"I can watch Rory then!" I say grinning.

"You sure can, come on inside and we can catch up." Katniss suggests, taking my hand and leading me inside.

"Good, because we have a lot to talk about." I say, settling down onto their couch.

"We sure do little duck, we sure do."

_**Yay they are reunited! Isn't it so exciting! Even though this was kind of a boring chapter I hope you enjoyed the end, it was really fun to write! **_

_**Hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for all the lovely reviews for the last chapter, they meant a lot.**_

_**Until next time!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	25. Reuniting with Old Friends

_**Here I am with another chapter, hope you enjoy it! We are up to 175 reviews in this story, thanks guys!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of the characters.**_

_**Chapter #25~Rory's POV**_

For the next two days nothing significant happens to our now very small alliance; everyone just kind of mopes around, each tribute mourning the death of an ally. It still hasn't sunk in that Prim is really gone, I miss her terribly, and Caspian too. I'm guessing that the game-makers will have something happen to bring the rest of us together for a battle since nobody has died for two days. Sometimes I wish that it would just all end so that I could be with Prim, but then I remember her last words to me and my plan to win for her. Of course it would be so much easier just to die and be with her but I promised, I also promised to take care of Rosa and I intend on keeping all of them.

My hands are mostly healed thanks to the medicine and Prim's nurse skills. I removed the bandages last night and am quite glad to have regained full use of my hands once more.

"Hey." I look to beside me at Ruby who has settled herself down on the log that I am sitting on.

"Hi." I reply, not really in the mood for talking right now.

"How are you holding up?" She asks with genuine sympathy and kindness in her voice, which seems strange for a supposed career, but like I've said, this year's tributes are nothing like the normal ones.

"Fine I guess." I say even though it isn't really true.

"I miss her too," The girl whispers.

"Yeah."

We sit side by side in comfortable silence for a while, neither of us knowing what to say. We watch as the sun goes down and the moon comes up, giving us a little light to see by. The rest of our group sits around a small fire; hopefully small enough not to draw in enemies, and a few others sleep soundly in the tents.

"You loved her, didn't you." It's more of a statement then a question so I just nod slowly. "I could see it in the way you cared for her, the way you looked at her and also how you've barely said or done anything since he passing."

"She was my best friend ever since we were little." I tell her in a barely audible whisper. "It felt like a part of me had been ripped out when she…when she…" I can't say the word.

"I understand." Ruby whispers, giving my arm a little pat. "I had a friend like that back in District 1. He had just told me that he liked me and a few days later I was reaped. I liked him a lot but never actually got to tell him that." She sniffles a little and I give her small hand a friendly squeeze.

"You two want something to eat?" We turn around quickly at the sound of Jules's voice. He, Finnick, Gloss and Cashmere are the ones around the fire, eating some kind of meat one of them must have caught.

"Hungry?" I ask, turning to Ruby. She nods, "I could use something to eat." I help her up and we make our way of to the others.

The meat turns out to be fish that Finnick caught in a nearby stream. "Ever had fish Rory?" Finnick asks. I shake my head, "Don't get that in District 12."

"Well here you are." He smiles and hands me a raw fish on a thick stick.

"What do I do with it?" I ask, a little embarrassed.

"Well unless you want to eat it raw, which I wouldn't recommend. You hold the stick over the orange coal then slowly rotate it until the fish is cooked." He demonstrates then hands the stick back to me to try. It only takes a few minutes for me to get the hang of it and before long Finnick tells me that it should be good to eat.

I have to admit that the fish is quite delicious although it'd probably be even better with some spices. I have to say that I still prefer deer meat but at least it's food to fill my stomach.

"What do you think?" Finnick asks after I've thrown the bones away and wiped my hands and face.

"Pretty good." I say honestly.

"Okay, everyone let's get some sleep. I have a feeling something big might happen tomorrow and we need to be well rested." Gloss announces a few minutes later. "Cashmere and I will take first watch." Everyone nods in agreement and gets up, heading to their respective tents.

"Get some sleep, okay?" Ruby says to me before heading into one of the tents.

"I'll try." I promise. "You too." She nods and ducks inside where Rosa and Annie are already sleeping. Jules climbs in after me and so does Finnick, after taking off my jacket and slipping into the sleeping bag in my under clothes I fall straight to sleep, and thankfully this time I don't have any nightmares.

_**Prim's pov**_

I ended up sleeping at Katniss and Peeta's house since we stayed up late catching up and I didn't really feel like sleeping in my house alone. I was so tired that I slept late into the morning and only woke up when Katniss shook me.

"Better wake up little duck." My eyes flutter open and at first I think I'm dreaming but then I remember all that had happened yesterday and that I really am with Katniss again. I sit up, letting the blanket fall down onto my lap.

How did you sleep?" She asks, sitting next to me on the couch.

"Great, this couch is nicer than my bed!" I exclaim.

"Yeah, it is." Katniss agrees, then asks, "Are you hungry?" I nod, "Very!"

"Good, Peeta is in the kitchen making cinnamon buns for breakfast."

"Oh yummy! It'll be better than half cooked meat and dried fruit." I say, rubbing my tummy.

"I'm sure it will be." Katniss smiles. "How about you get dressed then we'll eat."

"Okay." She then leaves their small living room so that I can change into the clothes I wore yesterday. After re-braiding my hair I open the door and walk down the hallway that is much like my own and into the kitchen. The smell of cinnamon and bread hits me in full force as soon as I open the kitchen door.

"Oh Peeta! It smells heavenly!"

"Morning Prim. I hope they taste just as good." He greets me with a smile. Peeta then moves closer to give me a hug but I jump back.

"What's wrong?" He asks with a small smile.

"You're covered in flour!" I say, pointing to his apron and hands.

"Oh right, sorry. Katniss?" He turns to her with pleading eyes.

"Whatever." She chuckles, throwing her hands up and walking into Peeta's open arms. He then maneuvers his white hands to Katniss's hair and begins rubbing the top of head, turning her hair white. I stifle a giggle and Peeta winks at me. Katniss steps back a few seconds later and when she goes to flatten her mussed up hair her hands come back covered in flour.

"Oh you are so going to get it!" She shrieks and grabs a handful of dough and the cinnamon shaker. Peeta's face goes a little pale and Katniss grins evilly. I just stand back out of range and watch the two have a cinnamon roll fight.

A few minutes later Katniss is covered in flour from head to toe, and Peeta's face is totally covered in cinnamon and sugar and he has bits of dough in his blond hair.

"Guys! What about breakfast?" I ask loudly still laughing.

"Sorry." Peeta grins and moves in on me again.

"Oh no you don't!" I turn on my heels and run out of the kitchen towards the outside door calling behind me as I run, "I'm going to change and eat at my place, be over later!" Before they have a chance to respond I bound out of the door and onto the street. The fake arena sun is up in the fake blue sky creating a beautiful warm day. I wonder if they ever make it rain. It takes me a second to remember how to get back to my street and house but after a few wrong turns I finally come to _75__th__ Avenue. _

_I don't see anybody that I recognize on the way to my house; I actually don't see anyone period. People must stay to themselves here I guess. _I am just passing house 11-75 when the door swings open and my friend bounds outside.

"Prim!" She squeals and hurries down the front steps to meet me. "Sage!" I squeal as well and catch the 13 year old in a bear hug.

"I can't believe you're dead too!" Sage giggle still holding tightly to me.

"And I'm so glad that I got to see you again. Any scars?" She shakes her head. "Nope, the doctors fixed me up real good and Sara was really nice, did you meet her?"

I nod, "Yeah, and I persuaded her to try and come visit if she is able to."

"Oh goody!" Sage exclaims, giving me another hug.

"Have you seen Carissa yet?" I ask the girl. She bobs her head up and down, "Yeah! Just yesterday she came over since Thrasher isn't here yet." I suppose Thrasher is her tribute partner. "I'm living alone as well but I slept over at my sisters last night." I inform her.

"Awe I bet that's nice to have a family member here, makes it feel more like home." She sighs and looks off into the distance. I nod in agreement, "It sure is, but I'm glad I have friends too."

"Would you like to come inside?" She asks.

"Maybe in a bit, I need to change and eat breakfast then I promised Katniss I'd be back. But don't worry, I have a feeling that we will have plenty of time to spend together."

"Okay, well I'll see you later." Sage smiles and begins walking down the street.

"Where are you going?" I call after her.

"Carissa's! House: 09-75!" She calls back.

"Have fun! I might be over later."

"Great to see you Prim!"

"You too!" With a grin on my face I climb the 3 steps to my small house. On the way to my bedroom I see a door that I had never noticed before. Upon opening it I find a small living room much like the one I slept in last night at Katniss and Peeta's house. There is a pretty large couch in the middle with a TV facing it. Two comfy chairs sit on either side and a small coffee table is placed in between the two chairs. There is a large window on the side but the view isn't very inviting, just my neighbors house. I decide to keep the curtains closed so as to have some privacy and not have other people spying on me. After that is done I make my way to the bedroom and closet.

I toss the clothes I was wearing into the laundry basket, not sure if someone will do my laundry or if there is some way to do it myself here, and search for a different outfit for the day.

I decide on just a pair of comfortable pants and a blue tank-top, I have to wonder if someone knew that my favorite color is blue because half of the clothes are all different shades of the color.

Thankfully the weather is pretty moderate so I am not hot with the jeans, nor cold with the tank. I am practically starving by the time I am dressed for the day so I hurry into the kitchen, hoping that I can find something easy to make myself something for breakfast.

I find a loaf of freshly baked bread with an assortment of seeds and things on the top and after locating a sharp knife I cut into it, sighing at the smell. There is a jar of honey on a shelf and a carton of juice like we had on the capitol train, in the fridge and that is what I have for my breakfast. I'm sure that it is not even close to those cinnamon rolls that Peeta was going to make but I'll probably be spending the night over there more often until Rory comes. I have mixed feelings about that, I want to see him so badly but I also want him to get to go home. I am also glad that I am with Katniss but I also can't imagine what Mother is going through, I hope Hazelle and Gale with take care of her for me, we are practically family anyways.

After I am satisfied and no longer hungry I slip into a pair of flip-flops and saunter back outside, not stopping to wonder if I should lock my door or not, or if there is even a lock on it. I cross the street to Sage's house but after knocking a few times on the door and not receiving an answer I continue my way down the street, stopping in front of each house, trying to remember who had died during my games and which house they would be in. I find Carissa's house at 09-75 just like Sage told me. The girl Willow who died right before me at 08-75, Anna and Alan from District 5, and Aaron from District 3, the boy who saved me in the bloodbath. I decide that sometime I will go to his house and thank him properly. There is a bigger house for District 2, probably because there were four tributes and all but one are there already, just like all the houses on this street except mine since we are only two. Enobaria and Brutus live in this house and so does Aster, I really hope that all the fighting and enemies have stopped once out of the games, I wouldn't want Aster, or Rosa when she arrives, to get hurt when this is supposed to be a safe haven.

District 1 of course is still empty. I can't help but be excited for Ruby to come join us, I just hope it's not too painful. Gloss, Cashmere and Jules are surprisingly nice as well and I have to say I like them quite well.

Then I remember that I passed 04-75 already without stopping and turn around quickly. Misty is there and I want to see her right away and tell her of Caspian and how brave he's been but sad without her. It only takes about a minute to get there and I leap up the stairs to the large door. Knocking loudly in five consecutive knocks I stand back trying to catch my breath and wait for my friend to come to the door.

A few moments later I hear heavy footsteps approaching the door. The door is swung open and it is definitely NOT Misty that stands there in front of me.

"Caspian?" I ask in disbelief.

"Prim!" He grins and engulfs me in a bone-crushing hug.

"You're dead?" I barely get out.

Caspian nods, "Yeah, a few minutes after you actually."

"Wow. "I'm glad. I mean I'm sorry you died but I'm glad you're here, and get to see Misty again." I stumble through the sentence and Caspian just smiles.

"I know, and me too."

"Wait, did you know about all of this." I ask, gesturing around me.

"Yeah, a handful of us were let in on the secret. The reaping was rigged at certain Districts so that those of us who knew would be chosen."

"Wow." I say again, unable to comprehend all of this.

"Seriously. It's huge that the man we hated all of our lives is actually the good guy."

"Crazy."

"Have you seen Katniss yet?" He asks.

"Yeah, spent the night with her and Peeta last night."

"I'm sure it's nice to have a family member here." He whispers and I just nod.

"Caspian? Who are you talking to?" A voice whom I am assuming is Misty's echoes through the house.

"Come and see for yourself!" Caspian calls back.

"I haven't told her that you are here as well yet." He says to me. I just smile and wait for the girl to come to the door.

"What?" Misty has arrived but hasn't spotted me yet.

"Hey." I say quietly, stepping around Caspian to see her.

"Prim! You're here!" The 17-year-old squeals and lifts me up, swinging me around on the porch and laughing.

"IT's nice to see you too." I say, still laughing.

"Come in, come in!" She sets me down and motions for me to come inside. "We have some talking to do."

I follow Misty inside their house and Caspian, after shutting the door, comes in as well. I am in awe at the decorations of the house. Mine is just pretty bare and plain but they have pictures of the ocean on the walls and shells on shelves giving it a homey kind of look.

"Misty had it all decorated when I got here." Caspian says smiling.

"Where did you get all of this stuff?"

Misty chuckles, "Everyone has a sort of chute in their house where you get food and your clean laundry delivered." She explains. _So I don't have to do my own laundry_. I think to myself. "And if you want something you just send up a letter with a button and they send the things down. I wanted this place to look more like my home in District 4 so these are the types of things that I asked for."

"Wow." I say for the third time, "I'm going to have to do that!"

"And we can help you if you want. I've had a few days to get settled." Misty promises.

"Thanks!" I exclaim, giving them both a hug.

"Come sit down and we can get all caught up." Misty invites and I settle down in one of the plush chairs across from Caspian.

"I could get used to this." I whisper, mostly to myself.

_**So what did you think of Prim's first day? Sorry I didn't have much with Rory but we'll get to that, I just think that everything where the 'dead' tributes are is more exciting! Sorry for the not very good ending but this is the longest chapter in this story so far, Yay!**_

_**Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter, there were only six but its not too bad **____** Sorry for any mistakes!**_

_**Please leave a review before you go! Every single one is greatly appreciated.**_

_**Thanks again.**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	26. Rue

_**Holá my wonderful readers! Wow it's been at least a week since I last updated! Sorry! I've just been pretty busy which I am sure you all understand **____** Thanks so much for the reviews, I think that we got around 8 or something. ~Prim; canadianboy98; FearlesswithHimJC; samiesimpson; Heartlandlover12; sweetStarre123; Wolfheart4; HGFan4719; Not bad. We are up to 197 reviews now, let's see who will be the lucky 200**__**th**__**! **_

_**Hope you enjoy this chapter…**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Chapter #26~Rory's POV**_

I wake up to a girl's scream. Bolting up I find that I am alone in the tent but the sounds outside tell me that everyone is out there running around. Unzipping the fabric of the tent I peer out into the darkness. At first everything seems to be pretty normal, except for the fact that my fellow allies are hurrying about, but then the smell of smoke reaches my nose and heat from what could only be a huge forest fire hurts my eyes.

"We need to get out of here before everyone is burned alive!" Finnick yells, taking command. Rosa is crying and Ruby is trying to comfort her as well as pack up our meager belongings. Thankfully Finnick, Jules, Gloss and Cashmere take care of most of the packing.

"Run!" Gloss bellows just as the flames burst into our camp, licking up all of the dry leaves making a loud crackling sound. Everyone is scared although some try not to show it.

"We need to get to the winter section!" Jules calls out to us through the fire. "The fire won't harm us there." We all follow, not thinking about what 'winter' means. There will most likely be snow there, so even if we will be safe from the fire, we could freeze to death. There is also no wildlife there either so we might just starve to death as well. Swinging a pack full of supplies onto my back I hurry to catch up to the panicking group.

Rosa finds me soon after and clutches my hand tightly, "Are we going to burn to death?" She asks whimpering.

"No, we're going to be fine." I assure her. "We just need to hurry and get out of range." The girl just nods and quickens her pace beside me, still holding onto my hand like a lifeline or something. We continue on our way but no matter how fast we run the fire just keeps on coming closer. Everyone is coughing and choking in the smoke now, my vision is so blurry because the heat and smoke is making my eyes water. Rosa and I are still at the back of the group but the others aren't too far ahead.

Just then a crashing sound is heard and I turn my head just in time to see a large tree fall to the ground, the flames eating up the dry, beautiful leaves.

"Faster!" I can faintly hear Gloss's voice, urging the rest of us on.

"Not much further!" This time it is Finnick's voice that I hear. Most of us are running blindly through the woods, jumping over fallen logs and dodging sparks and flames. Then, all of a sudden the ground beneath our feet changes. The smoke and unbearable heat is gone and instead we are left in a semi-dark area. Tall evergreen trees are in a patch to our left and a frozen lake expands across the plan to our right. Packed down snow is what we are now treading on. I shiver slightly and pull my jacket on, thankful that I still have it. Looking down beside me I notice that Rosa is doing the same thing.

"Everybody here?" Finnick asks, glancing briefly at each tribute.

"I think so." Jules answers.

"Wait, where's Cashmere?" Gloss begins searching frantically around, even running to the fall and winter division and looking out at the fire and smoke.

"She's gone." Jules whispers.

"NO! We have to find her!" The young man insists.

"There is no way any of us would survive if we went back. I'm sorry Gloss but you have to remember where we are." Finnick tells him seriously.

Gloss just groans and plops down into a soft snow bank, placing his head in his hands.

"Are we setting up camp here?" I ask, a little hesitant.

"We'll have to, but just for tonight." Finnick replies. "Tomorrow we'll make our way to the Spring Section and hope that everyone else is in the 'Summer'." I nod walk over to help him and Jules set up just two tents this time. Ruby and Annie make a fire and Rosa just sits on the cold ground, doing nothing but staring off into oblivion, much like Gloss is doing.

Suddenly two canons go off, one after the other. We all look around; making sure the second canon wasn't for any of us. Then, since it is nighttime the anthem plays and two faces are shown up in the sky. The first is Cashmere; Gloss sniffles a little but doesn't allow himself to cry. The seconds is Female morphling from District 9. I am surprised that she actually made it this far considering she wasn't exactly in her right mind. _Well, she's gone now. _I think to myself. _17 more that will have to die before this nightmare can end._

The tents are set up a few minutes later and a warm fire is crackling. We don't have any fresh meat to eat but nobody is really hungry since it is actually the middle of the night. But since none of us would be able to sleep, except for Rosa maybe, we sit in a circle around the fire on top of the waterproof sleeping bags so that the snow doesn't melt through, and just talk or munch on dry and tasteless crackers.

My thoughts drift off to Prim and I try to hold back the tears as I think about all the fun times we had together and how much I'll miss her. I go back to our last week together before the reaping. How we were out collecting herbs for Mrs. Everdeen and there was the fire and rain and we got tapped inside the fence and had to spend the night in Katniss and Gale's old hunting cave. How I watched her sleep next to me without her finding out and kissed her cheek before I went to sleep as well. How I woke up many times that night to make sure that she was still beside me and warm enough. I miss her so much, I just wish that I could curl up and cry but I won't, I will try my best not to, to be strong for her, she would have wanted me to.

"How are you doing?" I look up to find a smiling Ruby coming to sit next to me.

"Just thinking." I reply quietly.

"About her?" I nod.

"I'll look out for her when I leave this place." She whispers.

"You-you don't plan on winning?" I ask, a little surprised that she is speaking this way.

"No, you're going to win this thing Rory. For Prim."

"I'm not so sure." I say.

"I believe in you. You can do it." She gives me a friendly smile and a pat on the arm. "I'm going to get some sleep, you might want to do the same."

"I'll try. Good night Ruby."

"Night Rory." I watch her retreating figure as she walks to one of the tens where Rosa is sleeping and ducks inside, disappearing from sight.

One by one the tributes that have been sitting around the fire head into one of the two tents until just Gloss and I are still out. The man hasn't said anything since his sister died.

I know exactly how he is feeling right now and decide that the best way that I can help him is just to stay quiet and let him mourn. After about half an hour of just staring into the flames of our campfire I begin to get really tired. I try to stay awake but nothing is working, I guess Gloss noticed this because he lifts his head and says, "Go get some sleep, I'll keep watch."

"Are you sure?" I ask hesitantly.

"Positive, now go." Gloss makes a shooing motion with his hands.

"Thanks." I say. "I won't be gone too long."

"Sleep as long as you can, I won't be able to." He replies sadly.

"We'll see." Is all I say in reply, then with one last glance behind me, I slip into the tent where Jules, Finnick and Annie are already sound asleep. I slide into my sleeping bag just as the first rays of the sunrise begin to show and fall asleep dreaming of Prim.

_**Prim's POV**_

I end up chatting with Caspian and Misty for most of the morning and before I know it it's lunchtime already.

"I should go." I tell them. "Katniss is probably wondering where I am."

"Well it was nice to see you Prim." Misty smiles and stands up.

"You too, and I'll see you both soon." I promise and get up from my seat as well. They both walk me to the door and after another round of hugs and a wave I make my way back to Katniss and Peeta's house. I find their street much easier than last time and their house as well. The smell of some kind of bread reaches my nose before I even reach the front door, then I see that Peeta has the kitchen window cracked open a bit.

I don't bother knocking and just walk right inside.

"Afternoon Prim." Peeta greets me with a smile. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows and most of the skin that is visible is covered in flour.

"Hi Peeta, whatcha making?"

"Cheese Buns." Peeta grins, pulling a pan out of the oven.

"Oh, delicious." I say, taking a whiff of the cheesy rolls.

"Oh I forgot. Kat told me to tell you to head to the living room once you got here. She wants you to meet someone."

"Okay." I reply. "But I'll be back soon so make sure you leave me some of those cheese buns."

"Not to worry Prim, I won't touch them until lunch." He promises as I exit the kitchen and walk down the hallway to the living room. I can faintly hear voices on the other side of the door, and I wonder whom Katniss would want me to meet. So instead of standing outside the door and trying to figure out who it is or listening to their conversation, I turn the door handle and step inside.

"Prim! You're here!" Katniss stands up from where she was lounging on the couch and gives me a hug. "I'd like to introduce you to my friend that lives next door. Prim this is Rue, Rue, Prim."

I walk forward and give the small girl my hand and she shakes it firmly. She has dark skin, even darker than Katniss's olive skin, and black curly hair. I distinctly remember her from Katniss's games last year, she was twelve which means she must be thirteen now.

"It's nice to meet you Prim." Rue says shyly. "Katniss has told me a lot about you and I just couldn't wait to meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you too Rue." I tell her with a smile. "And I have a few other friends our age from my games that are here if you'd like to meet them sometime."

"Oh I'd love to! Do you mean Carissa and Sage?" She asks enthusiastically.

"Yeah, them." I confirm.

"Great!"

Katniss just chuckles as she watches our exchanges and sits back down in her spot on the couch.

"Are there any other kids our age here?" I ask.

"A few, not many." Rue replies. "But we do have a huge tree-house a little ways from here in the woods that all the kids play at."

"Oh that sounds exciting! I can't wait to see it!" I smile.

"Yeah, about a year ago when we first got here, there were a few mutts from past games and they trapped Katniss and Peeta up in the tree-house for hours. But they're gone now." She adds quickly.

"Good." I say with a sigh of relief.

"Lunch is ready!" Peeta announces from the doorway.

"Great, I'm starved." I exclaim, hurrying into the kitchen. Katniss and Rue follow close behind. The four of us sit down at the kitchen table and Peeta places a basket of warm cheese buns at the center of the table and spoons a bowl of hearty soup for each of us.

"It all smells wonderful Peeta." Katniss tells him, a shy smile on her face. Peeta's face lights up at the compliment but quickly recovers, "Well I hope it tastes just as good." Rue gives me a knowing glance at that second and I smile back at her. The 'star-crossed lovers' thing might have started out as an act to win the Hunger Games but I can tell how much Katniss loves Peeta, just by the way she looks at him.

The soup and buns turn out to taste even better than they smelled and looked, and all of us eat until we couldn't eat another bite.

"But what about dessert?" Peeta whines jokingly.

"It'll just have to wait for later." Katniss tells him gently.

"Okay, that's fine." He agrees.

"So how exactly do you get all this food?" I ask.

"Well, about once a week, a load of groceries and your clean clothes and things like that will be lowered through a hole in the ceiling, probably where you were sent through as well." Peeta explains.

"Oh okay, now I get it. And you never run out of food?"

"Oh no, they usually send way more than we can eat." Katniss says with a small laugh.

"It's better than not having enough I guess." Rue puts in and everyone nods in agreement.

"So how did you spend your morning Prim?" Katniss asks a few minutes later.

"I ate breakfast then went and visited Misty and Caspian, you know the tributes from District 4 this year." I answer.

"Yeah, I noticed that you and Caspian got pretty close during the games, is there anything I should know?" Katniss eyes me suspiciously.

"Uh no, we're just friends. Besides, I couldn't do that to Rory." I mentally slap myself for letting that part about Rory slip, and of course my older sister catches it.

"What's this about you and Rory?"

"Well, I uh. He was always kind of jealous of Caspian." Is what I settle on telling her.

"And why would he be jealous?" She presses.

"I don't know, boys are like that when they like a girl, I guess."

"Rory likes you?" She asks in shock.

"Yeah, and I like him. Big deal." I mumble.

"Awe that's so sweet!"

"Seriously?" I say, kind of surprised that I'm not being yelled at right now.

"Yeah, I mean you're kind of young but I understand." Katniss replies and gives Peeta a smile.

"Thanks Kat. So, what about you and Peeta here?" I smirk at Rue as I say this.

"Well, uh, we're not really sure what we are yet." Katniss stutters.

"Yeah, we're more than friends but not dating and we haven't really talked about it." Peeta speaks for her.

"Oh, well it's obvious you both love each other." Rue bursts out and both Peeta and Katniss's cheeks turn bright red.

"Well I think I'm going to go now. I'd like to get settled in some." I say quickly. "Thanks for lunch Peeta, it was delicious."

"Sure Prim."

"I'll be going too." Rue announces and pushes her chair back as well.

"See you two later." We wave and leave the still sitting somewhat speechless at the kitchen table.

"Well you sure did it." I tell Rue once we're outside.

"Did what?" She asks innocently.

"Now they probably won't even talk to each other."

"Or maybe they'll finally confess their feelings for each other. Everyone here knows it but them." Rue giggles.

"Sure, whatever." We arrive at her house, which is only a few steps away, and Rue climbs the steps to her front porch. "See you later?" She calls.

"Absolutely." I wave to her and begin walking back home. Home. I guess I can't really call this house that I will be living in, home. Home is where the people you love are, and until Rory gets here, it'll never truly be home.

_**So what did you think?! I was going to end on more of a cliffhanger but thought that this was a pretty good stopping place **____** Hope you all enjoyed it, sorry for any mistakes. Thanks for reading and please don't forget to leave a review.**_

_**Until next time!**_

_**Adios!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	27. Nightmares

_**Hey! Long time no 'see', haha. Sorry it's taken me like sooo long to update. I've been busy and sick with the flu so haven't had the chance to write **____** It's a pretty short chapter but I really wanted to get one out today for you all. Thanks so much for all the encouraging reviews once again! I can't believe we are at chapter 27 already, its crazy! Thanks for waiting, and hope you like it!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games. **_

_**Chapter #27~Nightmares**_

A small breeze ruffles my hair as I make my way back to my house to get settled in. I wonder to myself if it is a real breeze and real wind or if it is all being controlled from a room up at the capitol. I am just passing house _**02-75**_ when a voice calls out my name; a voice that I have been dreading to hear again. I slowly turn around, my body beginning to shake unnervingly, and come face to face with Enobaria.

She grins wickedly and gives my arm a sharp poke with an overly long fingernail.

"Nice to see you again dearie." She sneers and pokes me again.

"What do you want?" I ask, gathering up my courage to glare at her.

"Oh nothing, I just want to let you know that you will pay for what you did to me."

"I was only protecting myself!" I yell at her. "And you're perfectly fine now so why do you need to punish me?"

"I don't like little children that hurt me, and anyone who does has to pay the consequences." The woman replies evenly.

"We're not in the arena anymore!" I scream. "There is no reason to hurt anyone anymore."

"Maybe in your opinion. But I was born to kill and hurt." My face pales and I lose my glare.

"So I'm just warning you. Watch your back." Enobaria laughs her evil laugh then climbs the steps to her house and slams to the door shut.

It takes me a moment to recover my shock at our conversation but a few moments later I do and run home as quickly as I possibly can.

Hurrying up the steps I quickly open the door and slam it shut behind me, locking it firmly. I lean up against the back of the door for a minute to catch my breath and try to lower my heart rate.

Checking the clock on the nightstand in my bedroom I realize that it is already after dinnertime. I decide to change into more comfortable clothing then head into the kitchen for a bowl of cereal before crashing. I'm surprised at how tired I am after a day of mostly talking and hanging out, but I really don't care, I just want to eat and climb into my new bed, it's got to be better than sleeping on Katniss's couch.

Slipping off my jeans I pull on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, completing my evening attire with a pair of fluffy pink slippers that were set at the end of my bed.

Finding a glass bowl in one of the cupboards of _my_ kitchen I also locate a box of some kind of breakfast cereal and decide to try it. A carton of fresh milk is in the fridge and I pour that on the cereal and after retrieving a spoon from one of the many drawers I quickly eat my bedtime meal.

Once I'm finished I drop the bowl into the sink to be washed in the morning and pad back to the bedroom. I am just about to climb into bed when I remember that I should probably brush my teeth. I hurry to the bathroom hoping that a toothbrush and toothpaste was included with the materials left here for my use.

Not surprisingly there are 2 toothbrushes in a fancy cup next to the sink, one pink and one blue. I assume that the pink one is mine and after locating the colorful toothpaste in the cupboard next to the mirror I squeeze some on and brush my teeth, thinking of how long its been since my teeth felt so smooth and clean.

I then brush out my long hair until it is silky smooth and climb into bed, pulling the soft and fluffy comforter up to my nose. At first I am a little nervous about sleeping in this house all alone but I'm not really alone. Katniss and Peeta are on the next street over and all my friends are only a few houses down, except for Enobaria who I had managed to forget about for all of about 20 minutes.

Closing my eyes I fall asleep quite quickly, my mind filled with dreams of Rory and District 12 and the things happening in both places. The dreams begin as normal happy dreams but then they turn worse and worse until I am sitting up in bed covered in a layer of sweat and shivering profusely. I wonder to myself if I screamed out in my sleep, thankfully there is no one here to wake up, but part of me wishes there was someone here to comfort me and hold me and tell me that everything will be okay.

After getting rid of my wet t-shirt and guzzling down a glass of cool water I get back into bed and close my eyes once more, hoping that the nightmares will leave me alone for the rest of the night.

_**Rory's pov**_

My dreams of Prim began happily with the two of us frolicking in the meadow back home but then they turned more and more into reality until I am watching her die all over again. Over and over I watch her die horrible deaths, each one worse than the last.

I wake up quite a few times after I go to bed and after about the 6th time I give up on trying to get any sleep and step out into the late morning air which is considerably cool. The sun is out and shining brightly but doesn't seem to be giving off any heat. Pulling my coat tighter around me I sit down in front of the small campfire where Gloss still sits in the same position I left him a few hours before.

Someone has laid out some kind of tarp over the snow so that we don't get wet when sit down.

"Get any sleep?" I look up to find Gloss looking at me with tired eyes.

I shake my head I reply, "Not really."

"Nightmares?" This time I nod.

"I know how you feel. That's why I just don't sleep."

"But you'll have to sleep eventually or you will just end up dying of exhaustion."

"Maybe that's what I want." He mutters.

"No, its not!" I tell him sternly, raising my voice somewhat.

"I'd get to see her again." He reasons.

"Yeah, but she wouldn't want you to just give up. She'd want you to keep fighting. Believe me I know."

"I guess. It's just so hard!"

"Nobody said that the arena would be easy." I tell him quietly. I am quite surprised that a big career from district 2 is sitting down and mourning over his tribute partner. Most careers kill their district partners and he wants to die just to be with his own sister again. They must have been pretty close, but I guess that's what it's like with twins.

Gloss, with his knees up to his chest, lays his head in his hands and doesn't speak anymore.

Picking up one of the packs nearby I find a package of dried fruit and sit back down again close to the fire with my snack. All around us it is deathly quiet, no birds singing in the evergreen trees, no squirrels running around and not even any voices. Everyone must still be sleeping. I am glad that we won't have to stay here much longer; as soon as everyone wakes up we are moving to _Spring_.

Once I'm finished my fruit the tributes have begun to stream out of the sleeping tents and pack up our supplies, each wanting to do it as quickly as possible and get out of the biting cold. The wind is picking up which just makes me colder and I pull my jacket closer and higher wishing I had a hat to keep my head and ears warm.

"Ready to head out?" Finnick calls out a few minutes later once both of the tents are packed up again. Everybody nods and picks up a pack, slinging it on their backs.

"Good, let's try and make it to the Spring section, we have a ways to go though since we are just bordering the 'Fall Section' so try and move as quickly as you can."

We all nod again and begin moving. Jules helps Gloss to stand up and keeps an arm around the young man's shoulders.

I guess the cold makes everyone move faster because from what Finnick tells us an hour later, we are making very good time and should arrive in about an hour. I couldn't be happier, my feet are almost numb and it hurts to breath, talk or do anything with my face. My hands are blotchy red and I am just cold all over.

Some of the tributes don't even have their coats with them and I can only imagine how they are feeling right now. Somehow Rosa finds her way to my side and stays close trying to stay warm. I keep my arm around her slim form and together we stay somewhat sane. After what seems like hours Finnick announces that he can see green trees without snow on them just up ahead. I try and crack a smile or at least tell Rosa that everything will okay now but my lips just won't move, like they're frozen in a line.

Suddenly a girl's scream sounds very close to where we are and then as soon as it came everything is silent once again.

"Who was it?" Finnick asks, stopping and turning around.

Jules points to a pile of snow that had just slid off a large evergreen, "It landed on Ruby."

"Okay guys, let's dig her out." Finnick instructs and so I let go of Rosa gently and go to help Gloss, Finnick and Jules dig Ruby out from the mound of snow. It is a little humorous when you think about it, the snow sliding off of the tree exactly as she walked by but I sober up almost as soon as we see her. Sadly she was one of the poor tributes without a jacket, her lips of a dark shade of blue and her face is frostbitten. He hands are stiff and she doesn't seem to be breathing. Jules is freaking out, trying in vain to warm her up but she makes no response.

Apparently the snow was too heavy and even though she was only covered for less than a minute there was no air and as weak as she was, wasn't able to breathe.

A few seconds later a canon shot booms through the area, causing me to jump.

"She's gone." Finnick whispers, leading Jules away from her limp body. No Gloss, Jules and me have all lost our tribute partners with whom we were very close. I can tell that he is trying very hard not to cry but even if he did let the tears fall they would freeze directly on his cheeks. I press my three red and cold fingers to my purple lips and say goodbye to Prim's friend. Well they can be together now.

We leave Ruby to be picked up by the hovercraft and taken home and continue on our way. I can see the green line filled with flowers now and speed up a little in anticipation of thawing out. We are almost there when another canon blasts causing us all to jump a little and look around to see if it was any of us. Thankfully after a careful count we are all accounted for so it must have been someone else nearby.

"The others are nearby, let's hurry!" Finnick calls and we all encourage our sore legs to move quicker. Finally our group all crashes across the line into a field of wildflowers and warm spring air. Almost instantly I feel better; Rosa comes to sit next to me and we massage our frozen toes.

"We made it." She says, breathing heavily.

"We sure did." I agree, giving her a small smile. Finnick tells us that since we are so tired that we'll set up camp here just not right on the border just in case we have unwanted 'guests'. So once our feet are mostly thawed we walk about ten minutes more to a little clearing surrounded in trees and I recognize it at the first place we rested on our first day in the arena. It seems like forever ago, and to think Prim was with me the last time we were here.

I help Finnick and Annie set up the two tents since Jules and Gloss are kind of full of grief that they aren't thinking straight. I can't believe that it is only the 6 of us left in this alliance. I think to myself that maybe I should leave and go off on my own but I quickly dismiss the thought by saying that I promised to watch Rosa for Prim. We don't do anything the rest of the afternoon except for making a small fire, with the least amount of smoke as possible, and eating what we have left of our food. Gloss and Jules sit on a log next to the stream just staring at nothing, Annie and Rosa go to sleep in one of the tents, which leaves just Finnick and I out.

"We're nearing the end." Finnick mentions while munching on some crackers.

"Yeah." Is all I say.

"I wonder who will be the winner." He muses.

"I don't know."

He doesn't talk after that and we just sit there in silence.

Once the sun has gone done the anthem plays and two faces appear in the sky. First Ruby's then the older woman from District 10, then all is silent again.

"We need more food." I say to Finnick a little while later.

"I was thinking about hunting tomorrow." He replies.

"You hunt and fish?" I ask, a little surprised.

"Sure, what about you?"

"Cool. Yeah, I can shoot a bow and arrow." I say, pointing to Prim's bow that I brought with me."

"Good, maybe the two of us and go tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good." I reply with a sigh, and laying with my back up against a tree I close my eyes and try to catch up on some much needed sleep.

**Yeah, short chapter, and I don't know what is with me and ending when Rory goes to sleep but I didn't feel like ending on a cliffhanger this time **** Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading and please don't forget to tell me how you liked it **

**Until next time…**

**~FirePearl**


	28. Cherry Pie

**Holá! Yay chapter 28! So I'm a little disappointed, we only got four reviews for the last chapter and they came far between. Thanks to:canadianboy98. FearlesswithHimJC, Gabsters and HGFan4719 for reviewing **

**Gabsters: wow you read fast! Well I plan to put him in soon, I'm not sure when though. But he will show up! Thanks so much!**

**Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games.**

Chapter #28~Rory's pov

I am awoken by Finnick gently shaking my shoulder; opening my eyes I find that the sun is just beginning to rise, and also that I slept propped up against this tree all night. Boy am I going to be sore.

"Ready to go catch some food?" Finnick whispers and I nod, stretching my legs and standing up. It takes a moment for me to be steady on my feet but soon I am up and ready to go. Picking up Prim's bow and quiver of arrows I also strap two knives to my belt.

"I left Jules in charge." Finnick tells me. "He's a bit more stable than Jules, and Annie promised to keep an eye on things as well."

"Okay. That shouldn't be too hard, there aren't many of us left." I say quietly.

"Yeah, we're nearing the end." He replies, picking up a spear.

"Six of us, then the others. I've lost count."

"Oh, and me." A voice says and we spin around.

"Johanna?" Finnick asks in disbelief.

"Yup, its me. Nice to see you too." She laughs, coming closer to the two of us.

"Are you here to kill us?" I ask hesitantly.

Johanna shakes her head, "Nah. If I was you both would have been long dead. I'm tired of being a loner and decided to hang with you guys. I could also use some food."

"Sorry Jo, we're about out. That's kind of why we were just heading out to do some hunting." Finnick explains.

"Okay then. I'll help. May as well earn my keep." The woman mutters to herself.

"Um, I didn't say you could join your alliance." Finnick says.

"Oh don't worry. I'll be a nice addition to your little group here. Who knows? You might have need of me some time."

"Fine, whatever. Let's go before it gets to late." Finnick grumbles and hands Johanna one of his two spears.

"I'm fine, I've got this." She says, pulling a small axe from the pack on her back that I just now saw.

"Okay then. Let's get out of here." Finnick announces, leading the way out of the camp.

"So, how exactly will you kill our food with _that?_" I ask Johanna during our trek through the small part of woods located in the Spring Section.

"Pretty much like a spear." She explains. "It's just not as clean. But I'm pretty good if I do say so myself."

"Sure." I reply with a smirk.

"What about you kid? Can you shoot?" Johanna asks, pointing to the bow and quiver on my back.

"Yeah, I can."

"Weren't those your District partners weapons?"

I nod, "How did you know?"

"Oh I just know. I pretty much know about every single tribute around and what they fight with and all that." She says proudly.

"You've been spying on us?" I ask, starting to get a little nervous around this woman.

"I spy on everyone kid."

"I have a name you know." I tell her and Finnick chuckles to himself.

"Yeah, I know. I just like making up nicknames for people." She replies.

"Um okay. So, what should I call you?"

"Most call me Jo. Or Axe Woman." She adds with a laugh.

"I'll stick with Jo." I say quickly.

"Sure, whatever."

"So, what about you handsome. "Your girlfriend still around?"

"First my name is Finnick, and second you know that she's still alive. You just finished telling Rory here that you know the business of every tribute around. And thirdly please just shut up, you're going to scare away the game."

"Touchy, touchy." Johanna says with a laugh, but eventually does shut her mouth leaving the three of us to hunt in silence. I don't mind, it gives me time to think and not have to talk to anyone. I wonder if Gale is watching right now. I wonder if he would trust Johanna. But it doesn't really matter, we're not all going to end up living anyways so if she just killed us then it'd be over with and I'd get to go be with Prim. But then I think that Gale wouldn't just give up. He would fight until his very last breath, just like Prim would want me to do.

I hope Mother hasn't let Posy watch much. Maybe just enough to see me once in a while but I just pray that she didn't see Prim die, that would kill her. Posy really looked up to Prim, wanted to be just like her when she grew up.

Suddenly there is a rustling in some of the bushes up ahead. Finnick places his pointer finger on his lips, signaling for us to keep quiet. Slowly and quietly I grab the bow from my back and string an arrow, pointing it in the direction of the noise. Then, before I can even comprehend what is happening and release my arrow a deer bounds in the small clearing and barely a second later Johanna's axe flies through the air imbedding itself in the large deer's neck making a sickening crack. The deer, which is actually a buck, considering the huge rack atop its head, falls to the ground, blood pouring from the wound.

We all run quickly over to it, "He's dead." Jo says.

"Not bad." Finnick says, congratulating her.

"Told ya." She replies and cleaning off her blade tucks it back into her pack.

"Are we going to clean it here?" I ask, looking at our kill.

"I guess we're going to have to. It's way to heavy to drag all the way back to camp." Finnick replies.

"There is a little stream just a few yards from here, we could clean and skin it there." Jo suggests.

"Wow, you really do know your way around here." I say with a smile.

"Yep." She replies with a grin.

"Okay, let's get going." Finnick says and grabbing onto the buck's rack begins pulling. He doesn't get far because the animal is huge and probably very heavy.

"Little help here?"

Jo and I nod and also grab onto the rack and together the three of us with many strenuous grunts and groans arrive at the base of the small stream about ten minutes later. Johanna extracts two skinning knives and hands one to Finnick and keeps one for herself.

"You know how to skin an animal kid?" She asks, another skinning knife in her hand.

I nod, "Yes I do."

"Good, now we'll finish in no time." She hands me the sharp, smooth knife and the three of us begin skinning and gutting the deer. Once we just have a pile of meat Jo pulls out a plastic bag and puts the meat inside.

"What will we do with the remains?" I ask, gesturing to the mound of blood and guts.

"We should bury it all." Johanna says.

"What'll we dig with?" Finnick asks.

"Here, use my axe." She replies, handing him her small axe. "But don't get it all dirty!" She snaps, then turns to me. "Clean these knives in the stream."

I take the three skinning knives and walk over to the stream and watch the water wash over the steel blades and the blood circulating in the water then going out of sight. I dry them on the grass the hand them back to Johanna. Finnick already has a small hole dug and so I help them push the wastes inside then cover it back up with dirt.

"Shall we head back now?" Finnick suggests.

"Sure, let's go." Jo swings her pack back on her back and I pick up the bow and arrows and sling them over my shoulder as well, then we begin our trek back to camp.

_**Prim's pov~Right before Ruby's death.**_

I am currently sitting on the sofa at Caspian and Misty's house along with Sage and Carissa. We are watching the TV intently as the camera focuses on our group who are presently walking through the snow and ice of the Winter Section of the arena. Everyone looks so cold and I feel especially bad for Ruby who doesn't have her jacket with her. Rory is keeping good on his promise to watch over Rosa. She is walking close to him, holding his hand tightly, trying to keep warm.

Then suddenly there is a scream and the whole group turns around and the camera turns to a mound of snow.

"_Who was it?" Finnick asks._

_Jules points to the mound, "It's Ruby." _

"_Okay guys, let's dig her out." Finn commands and everyone hurries to obey. _

A few moments later Ruby is free but even I know that she is already gone. Jules knows that as well and begins to cry. Her lips are purple and her skin is all red and blotchy.

They end up saying goodbye then leaving her to be picked up by the hovercraft. My eyes begin to water but then I remember that she'll be coming here soon.

"Hey, Ruby will be coming here soon." I say excitedly, quickly jumping up.

"We should have a welcome party!" Carissa suggests, also standing up.

"And she can stay with me until one of her District partners arrives!" I propose.

"I like it." Misty says. "We can have everything ready at her house because that's where she will be placed first."

"Well it's evening now so first thing tomorrow we can head over there." Caspian says.

"And if you want, you all can sleep here."

"Wait!" Sage cries and we all look at her.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Cashmere died yesterday and she's from District 1 so she'll be sharing a house with Ruby."

"She's here too?" I ask surprised.

"Yeah, I watch a lot of TV even though most of the tributes here don't.

"Well then we can still have the party if Cashmere agrees." Carissa offers.

"Sounds good."

"Well I promised Katniss I'd sleep over at her place tonight." I state.

"Okay, see you tomorrow?" Sage asks, giving me a hug.

"Bright and early." I tell her with a smile.

"Night Prim." Carissa squeals, propelling herself into my arms. After I've given everyone a goodnight hug I step outside and sprint down the street towards Katniss and Peeta's house, speeding up even more when I come to Enobaria's place. Thankfully she doesn't come out but I'm still nervous about what she'll do to me.

Katniss and Peeta are just washing up the dinner dishes when I arrive and I hurry to give them each a hug?

"Hungry?" Peeta asks, taking a small pie out of the oven.

"Well I ate at Misty's." I begin, "But I'd never say no to pie! What kind is it?"

"Cherry!" Peeta grins, setting it on a cooling rack and taking off the oven mitt.

"I've never had it before." I say sheepishly.

"Not many have and it was a rare thing to have at the bakery but I memorized the recipe so that I could make it whenever I wanted to." He explains.

"I'm sure it's delicious." Katniss says, inhaling deeply.

"And it's the best with ice-cream." Peeta adds.

"Oh! I've only ever had ice-cream once and that was when I was really little and Dad took us."

"Well we have quite the stash here in the freezer so you can eat as much as you want." He promises with a chuckle.

"I wonder if I have any at my house. I haven't really had time to check through everything."

"I doubt it. A lot of this stuff we ordered." Katniss tells me.

"Oh, well then I'll just have to eat here!" I say smiling.

"I wouldn't object to that." Peeta says, pulling out three plates from a high cupboard.

"Or you guys could help me with the ordering for my first time." I put in.

"Or that." Katniss says laughing.

"So, when do we get to eat the pie?" I ask impatiently.

"Patience Prim." Peeta says, an amused smile on his face. "But from my experience pie is best warm so that the ice-cream melts so we could probably cut it right now."

"Oh goody!" I squeal and hurry to sit down at the table, fork in hand.

"Katniss, would you mind getting the ice-cream from the freezer?" Peeta asks sweetly.

"Sure." She replies and opens the freezer, bringing out a tub of vanilla ice cream.

Peeta slices us each a triangular sized piece then scoops out the ice cream on to the plates as well. I dig in almost immediately, moaning in satisfaction.

"This is amazing Peeta!" I exclaim, my mouth full of hot cherries and the buttery crust.

"Glad you like it." He chuckles, taking a bite as well.

After we are finished eating and couldn't eat another bite even if we wanted to I tell Katniss and Peeta about Ruby and how we are going to have a welcome party for her. They volunteer to come help with the preparations tomorrow morning, offering to bring anything they can find in the house that could be used for decorations and Peeta says he'll bake a cake.

I fall asleep this night with a smile on my face and thankfully am not plagued with nightmares, I hope that Rory gets his rest as well.

_**Yes I'm ending it with one of them going to sleep again, but I couldn't think of a good cliffhanger ;) Hope you liked it! It'll get more exciting later I promise. Thanks for reading and pretty please review this time! **_

_**Until next chapter!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	29. Welcome Party

Hey! Sorry for the delay, but I also have two other stories to update We got 8 reviews for the last chapter! Thanks guys so much!

Gabsters; canadianboy98; sweetStarre123; goldie031; HGFan4719; FearlesswithHimJC; TributeWitch; KatNat; Thanks! So this will be the last update until probably the beginning of May, as I said in 'Always and Forever' I'm off to Spain for a week and won't be able to update! Yay vacation!

Well I hope you enjoy this chapter…

Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games.

Chapter #29~Prim's POV

I wake up to the sound of a clock alarm's ring. Jumping up off the couch I slip of my pj's and put on the outfit I brought to Katniss's last night to change into today. I smile in anticipation of Ruby's welcome party. Putting on my sundress and matching shoes I make my way to the kitchen where Peeta is already up and about making us breakfast as well as starting on the cake he promised to bake for the occasion.

"Morning Peeta!" I greet him cheerily while sliding into one of the chairs at the table.

"Morning Prim, sleep well?"

I nod. "Good, are you hungry?"

"Oh yes." I reply.

"Well you're just in time. I've made hot omelets and rolls."

"Smells wonderful like usual." I say, taking the plate form him and digging in.

"How's the cake coming along?"

"It's baking in the oven right now. I'm making the frosting and then all we have to do is ice it!"

"Can I help?" I ask sweetly.

"Only if you do more than just lick your fingers like your sister." He replies laughing.

"Sure, I think I can manage that." I say while winding the melted cheese on my fork. "By the way, where's Katniss?"

"She slept through the alarm so I decided just to let her sleep since she is probably tired." Peeta tells me while whipping up the frothy frosting.

"Wow, that's unusual."

"You're telling me, she is usually up at the same time as me even though she can't hunt or anything."

"Force of habit." I tell him, cleaning the remains of my omelet of the plate with a warm roll.

"Yeah I guess. So, when are you meeting your friends at Ruby's house this morning?" He asks, changing the subject.

"I'll leave right after breakfast then you and Katniss can meet me over there later when the cake is finished."

"Sounds good. What is the number of the house?"

"Um I think it's _01-75_." I tell him.

"Okay, I knew it would be _75_, but I wasn't sure what District she came from."

"Well with a name like Ruby, she could only come from District 1."I reply jokingly.

"Yeah I guess you're right Prim."

"Well thanks so much for breakfast Peeta but I'd better get going."

"Alright Prim, be safe."

"I will Peeta, bye!" I give him a small wave them bound out the door, making sure to close it quietly so as not to make my sister, and down the steps. The only part of this that makes me a little nervous is that Enobaria lives right next to Ruby and Cashmere's house and she could easily do something. I guess I just have to hope that she doesn't try anything and ruin the party.

Thankfully almost everyone is there already including Rue who has become friends with Sage and Carissa. Misty and Caspian greet me each with a friendly hug and together we get to work. Everyone has brought something to contribute including snacks and decorations. I tell them all that Peeta is bringing a cake to contribute and I think that Caspian even began to drool a little. Surprisingly, Cashmere is totally onboard with the whole party idea and us invading her house so the 7 of us immediately get to work on making the house look perfect. Cashmere has two beds in her room so we are guessing that is where Ruby will be dropped. The other room will be for Jules and Gloss.

We keep the TV on just in case something big happens, but nothing really does. Rory's ally group is still sleeping in their tents near the creak in the spring section and Finnick is on guard duty. Jules and Gloss still sort of mope around but it seems as though they are learning to accept that their District tributes are gone and that they need to move on.

Caspian and Sage are put in charge of blowing up a bunch of balloons to hang around the living room and Ruby's bed, and the rest of us clean up and hang streamers and make welcome signs. Cashmere isn't exactly the neatest woman around so we had our work cut out for us, especially not knowing exactly when Ruby will arrive.

We break for lunch a few hours later, devouring the chips and sandwiches Cashmere put out for us.

"Are we almost finished?" Caspian asks, his mouth full of a ham and cheese sandwich. "My cheeks are killing me from blowing up all those balloons!"

"Yeah, mine too." Sage agrees in between handfuls of chips and gulps soda.

Most of the food they have here I've never tried before but I have to say its all pretty delicious.

"Okay, I think we have enough." Misty says, looking around.

"So what do we do now?" Rue asks.

"Now, we clean up our mess and then we wait for Ruby to come…" She is cut off by a loud knocking on the front door then the sound of it opening and a voice calling in, "Cake delivery!"

"It' Peeta and Katniss with the cake." I tell everyone then skip over to the door to greet them. The cake is actually huge. It is two layers and covered in a light pink frosting along with little different colored jewels decorating the sides and top.

"Wow Peeta! It's amazing!" I exclaim, showing him to the kitchen where he can put it.

"Thanks Prim, although it's not one of my greatest cakes because I don't have all the same equipment here like I did at the bakery, but I've made use with the things I have."

"Did you order the stuff?" Misty asks.

"Yeah I did." Peeta tells her. I am then asked by Caspian to introduce my sister and friend to the rest of them and pretty soon they are all chatting like old friends. We all get talking about our homes in the different districts and Peeta and Katniss tell us some about their games that weren't shown on TV and things like that. Before we know it, there is a loud noise in the girls' bedroom and we all hurry to investigate.

Sure enough a sliding plate in the ceiling above Ruby's bed is slowly opening. All nine of us crowd into the room and wait expectantly for her to drop out.

"Okay guys, let's not get too close, we don't want to scare her." Cashmere says, taking control of the situation. We all nod our heads solemnly and step back, leaving just Carissa and Cashmere on both sides of the bed.

We don't have to wait long before a body falls from the hole in the ceiling, landing in a heap on the soft bed. Ruby lies still for a moment before slowly sitting up and looking around.

"Where am I?" She asks a little groggily.

"You're in an old arena where all the 'dead' tributes go kid." Cashmere explains.

"Really?" Her voice squeaks out in disbelief.

"Hi Ruby!" I say with a smile, stepping into view and walking towards the bed.

"Prim!" She exclaims jumping up and giving me a hug. She then goes to hug Misty and Caspian, then Sage and Carissa.

"This is so cool." Ruby laughs, sitting back down on her bed.

"That's what _we_ all said when we dropped through the hole." I tell her.

"Except you're the only one who got a welcome party." Caspian says chuckling, "The rest of us, well except for me because Misty was already there, had to find things out for ourselves."

"Well then I thank you all very much." Ruby says smiling.

"Our please." Peeta says, stepping in next.

"Peeta Mellark from last years games?" She gasps. Peeta nods and then pulls in Katniss as well.

"And Katniss Everdeen! It's so nice to meet you! Prim has told me a lot about you two."

"All good I hope." Peeta laughs and smiles at me.

"Only the best." Ruby assures him.

"Well, who wants cake?" Caspian announces, "Because I'm hungry!"

"There's cake?" Ruby asks, jumping up again.

"Oh yes." I tell her. "Peeta made it."

"Well from what you've told me I'm sure that it's delicious." Ruby says laughing.

"Lead the way!" Cashmere tells Peeta and he happily obliges, taking Katniss's hand at the same time and leading her out of the room. The cake turns out even better than it looked and every few minutes someone would tell Peeta just that. Ruby wears a happy smile the entire time and I just wish there was some way that we could tell the others that we are all right. Finnick is the only one in our alliance that still has his District partner, who is also his girlfriend. If one of them 'dies', I hope they both do so that they don't have to be separated for long.

We don't end up eating the entire cake so Peeta leaves the leftovers for Ruby and Cashmere. We leave a little while later, promising to come back and visit soon. I then say goodbye to Katniss and Peeta who head back to their own house while Rue takes Sage, Carissa and I to a cool tree house in the woods.

_**Rory's pov**_

"Guys we need to move!" I jolt awake at the sound of Finnick's voice and ask what it is.

"Let's just say we're going to have some unwanted guests pretty soon if we don't hurry up and get out of here." He replies, making his way to one of the tents to get Annie and Rosa.

That's good enough for me. Heading to the second tent I wake up Jules and Gloss telling them that we need to move, apparently I'm the only one who woke up at the sound of danger. They get up quickly enough, stuffing our supplies into backpacks while still waking up. Ten minutes later the fire is out, tents and everything else is packed up and we are ready to go. I'm surprised that our 'unwanted guests' haven't arrived yet, but I'm not going to complain if we get out alive and without a fight. We are just running into the grove of trees and out of sight when a shout is heard, signaling that they've found us. Before we can run any further, an arrow is shot and barely misses Gloss's shoulder. I quickly string my bow with an arrow and loose it into the group of about five people almost instantly killing someone although we're too far to see exactly who it was.

"Hey, where's Johanna?" Finnick asks, a little panicked.

"Think she led them here?" Gloss spits out angrily.

"No, she wouldn't do that." Finnick says positively.

"Well then where is she?" I ask.

"I'm here kid!" I turn around to find Johanna high in a tree above us. "Can't believe you forgot about me!"

"I knew you could take care of yourself." Finnick says with a chuckle.

Just then another arrow flies in to our small group and this time it hits Gloss right in the shoulder. He cries out in pain and falls to the ground, clutching his wound to try and staunch the bleeding. A canon shot goes off just then and I'm afraid that it is Gloss, but I guess it was just delayed for the person, who I think was a woman, that I shot a moment ago.

I then quickly take the medical backpack off my back and hand it to Annie who works on fixing up Gloss's shoulder. I aim once again and shoot an arrow into the other group but it just ends up hitting the ground harmlessly. The other group must be in range now because Jules picks up his spear and throws it with such force that it goes right through one of the men. His canon fires only a second later.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Finnick shouts and we begin running in to the trees.

"Where are we headed?" Jules asks.

"As far away from them as possible." Finnick replies and we keep on going. They are soon out of sight, and by now we have reached the summer section again.

"We've gone in one big circle." Johanna says.

"I know." Finnick tells her. "Okay, we'll make camp on the other side as out of sight as we can. We all follow him and set up camp again in a tight grove of trees where we should be less visible. Gloss is laid down in one of the tents as soon as it is erect and ready for use and Annie volunteers on caring for his injury. We only set up the one tent just in case we need to make a quick exit. By now it is about lunch time, so those of us who are hungry munch on some of the leftover deer meat that Finnick, Johanna and I caught.

That night, two pictures are shown in the sky; the woman from District 11, and the man from District 10. I didn't know them but it makes me feel kind of sick that I am the one who killed one of them. Well, that means I'm just that much closer to going home.

_**So only the end had some action in it, but it can't be all fun and games! Haha. Or in this case, action and adventure. Hope you liked it anyways and I'll miss you all and this story while I'm gone, but remember, a week goes by pretty fast when you're having fun!**_

_**Thanks again for reading and please don't forget to leave a review before you go!**_

_**Adios!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	30. Thrasher

_(Last Time, Prim's pov: We don't end up eating the entire cake so Peeta leaves the leftovers for Ruby and Cashmere. We leave a little while later, promising to come back and visit soon. I then say goodbye to Katniss and Peeta who head back to their own house while Rue takes Sage, Carissa and I to a cool tree house in the woods.)_

_**Together #30~Prim's pov**_

Rue led us deep into the forest for about ten minutes before we arrived at the base of a huge tree with a tree house at the top, partially camouflaged by the big leaves of the tree.

"Like it?" Rue smiles, pointing upward.

"How do you get up?" Sage asks, squinting her eyes to get a better look.

"I'll climb up then drop the rope ladder down for you three." She replies, moving closer to the tree.

"You're going to _climb_ that?" I say a little scared, "You won't fall?"

"Nah." Rue grins, "I've done it plenty of times. It is then that I remember the girl in Katniss's games and how she would swing from tree to tree like a monkey. Remembering that helped put my mind at ease.

"You know Peeta and Katniss were stuck up here for a few hours last year right after they arrived. A mutt somehow got inside the arena here and wouldn't let them down." Rue tells us.

"Ha ha really?" I laugh, feeling better now. "I'd have loved to see that!"

"Yeah, Katniss finally went from tree to tree until she got back to the houses, then she called Thresh and some other people and they killed the mutt. I don't think either of them have been back here since." The dark skinned girl finishes.

"I wouldn't either!" Sage exclaims. "I'm not so sure about this now."

"Don't worry." Rue encourages, "No mutts have been seen in a year, its completely safe." Without another word Rue jumps and grasps the nearest branch and the three of us still on the ground watch as she slowly climbs higher and higher until she is out of sight in the leaves. We wait silently for a few moments before something falls from the sky and lands, swinging in front of our faces.

"Sage, you go first." I say decidedly, not giving her a chance to argue.

Carissa and I hold the ladder steady while Sage slowly and shakily begins the long climb upward.

"Don't look down!" Carissa calls up to her only causing Sage to glance back down at us.

"I'm scared!" She whimpers, refusing to go any higher.

"Come on Sage! You're not going to fall!" I promise.

"You're almost at the top, just a little more to go!" Carissa says positively.

Just then Rue begins descending and once she reaches the small girl who is only about a year and a half younger than herself, she brings her up and the two of them disappear into the leaves.

"You can go next." I say to Carissa and she looks at me skeptically.

"You aren't scared are you Prim?" She asks, a smile tugging at the sides of her lips.

I shake my head, "Nope, I actually love to climb trees, did it a lot in District 12."

"Okay then." Carissa relents and I hold the ladder steady for her as she too starts climbing, though quite a lot quicker than Sage had. About a minute later she too has vanished from sight and after waiting a few more seconds to make sure that she is in the tree house I start climbing as well. It's quite a bit harder because nobody is steadying the swinging rope ladder for me but I seem to manage. One hand after another I get higher and higher. Feeling brave I glance down but immediately wish I hadn't. My head starts to get dizzy and everything seems to be spinning beneath me. Suddenly a strong gust of wind shakes the ladder and I almost lose my grip. Taking a deep breath I gently let one of my hands let go and reach to the next rung.

"Prim! Are you okay?" I hear Rue's voice call from above me.

"Yeah, I'm on my way up." I yell back to her.

"It's getting really windy, you'd better hurry!" The voice says and I begin climbing faster, trying not to look down. The sky has turned grey and dark clouds are rolling in fast. I don't know if this weather is real or if it is all being controlled from somewhere, but it looks and feels pretty legit to me. The wind is blowing very hard now and I don't dark try and climb anymore until it dies down some. My hands are sore from the tight grasp I have on the rough rope and my whole body hurts from being so tense the past few minutes.

Finally after what seems like hours the wind seems to slow down so I gently unclasp my right hand and reach up for the next rung, but before I can grasp it and gust of wind shakes the ladder so profusely that I lose my grip altogether. With a scream I fall all 15 feet to the ground below and land in an awkward position that jars my entire body.

The girls in the tree house must have heard my scream because I can just make out Rue beginning the climb down.

I muster up all the energy I have to call up to her, "No! Don't! You'll fall, I'll be fine!"

At first I'm afraid she didn't hear me, or she's going to come down anyways but thankfully she climbs back up and disappears from sight. I try to sit up but I hurt all over and when I try to push myself up with my right arm a searing pain jolts through the limb causing me to scream in pain and fall back down. Luckily the rain hasn't started yet but the sky just keeps getting darker and darker until I can no longer see the top of the tree where the girls are. I hope that they will be safe up there and don't get struck by lightening or something.

The pain in my arm is so great that I feel myself slipping away. Then I hear a voice, not one of the girls, but a boy's voice. Opening my eyes just a little I notice a person running towards me.

As he approaches I recognize him as Caspian. He sees me lying on the ground a moment later and rushes to my side.

"Prim, what happened?"

"I fell off the ladder." I whisper in reply.

"Oh goodness." I hear him say to himself, then he turns back to me, "Don't worry, I'll get you back home. Where are the other girls?"

"Up." I say weakly.

"In the tree house?"

I just nod and close my eyes.

"Don't fall asleep Prim." I hear Caspian say desperately and I reopen my eyes.

"Where does it hurt?" He asks and I point to my arm that is probably broken by the way it feels.

"Anywhere else?"

"Everywhere." I groan and close my eyes again.

"No Prim, You have to stay awake!" With great effort I open my eyes again but just can't seem to keep them open.

"Okay, I'm going to pick you up now and take you to your sisters house."

I just nod my head slightly in answer. I feel one of his arms slide under my legs, and the other under by back. He gently lifts my broken arm and sets it on my chest causing me to cry out.

"I'm sorry." He whispers then stands up. The walk back seems to take forever and the only thing keeping me awake is Caspian's voice telling me to stay awake. Finally we arrive at Katniss and Peeta's house and Katniss greets us at the door.

"What happened?" She asks in a scared voice and Caspian explains in a hurried voice. I am then brought to my sister's bed and laid gently on the soft blankets. My arm continues to throb painfully and once again I can feel myself slipping into unconsciousness. This time no one tries to stop me and just before I drift off I hear Katniss send Caspian to fetch the doctor. Come to think of it I didn't even know we had a doctor here. Luckily for me there is one, maybe now I won't die.

_**Rory's pov**_

_(Last Time: "I know." Finnick tells her. "Okay, we'll make camp on the other side as out of sight as we can. We all follow him and set up camp again in a tight grove of trees where we should be less visible. Gloss is laid down in one of the tents as soon as it is erect and ready for use and Annie volunteers on caring for his injury. We only set up the one tent just in case we need to make a quick exit. By now it is about lunchtime, so those of us who are hungry munch on some of the leftover deer meat that Finnick, Johanna and I caught. That night, two pictures are shown in the sky; the woman from District 11, and the man from District 10. I didn't know them but it makes me feel kind of sick that I am the one who killed one of them. Well, that means I'm just that much closer to going home.)_

We are left alone that night but I don't think any of us get much sleep. A canon booms towards the middle of the night or early morning causing us all to be wide awake but it sounded as though it was quite far away; probably someone who ate nightlock or something. Annie continues to watch over Gloss who is still in pain from the arrow wound in his shoulder, and Finnick keeps Annie in sight. I think Rosa is the only one who gets any sleep nowadays. I sit staring into the cackling fire, just thinking when suddenly a stick cracks behind me. I stand up in one fluid motion, my hand on the dagger hooked to my belt.

I wait a few seconds before sitting back down again, telling myself that It was only a rabbit or something. But something tells me it wasn't, and I feel as though I am being watched. Standing up I look around, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Then as calm as ever, a boy steps out from behind a tree. He looks to be about 16 and has dark skin and black hair, much like Sage if I remember right. He has a scythe strapped to his belt but doesn't look like he is going to attack any time soon.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.

"I've been looking for this group for days." He replies gruffly. "My district partner was a part of it I think."

"Who?" I ask even though I'm pretty sure I know.

"Sage."

"Yeah, she was here." I tell him.

"But now she's gone, and I'd like to join your alliance."

"This late in the games?" I ask.

"Just for a few days I guess." The boy replies.

"How do I know that I can trust you?"

"I'm a friend of Johanna, she's here isn't she?" He says.

I nod, "Yeah she is."

"Good."

"Okay then, welcome to our small and diminishing alliance." I say with a small smile, holding out my hand. "I'm Rory." .

"Thrasher." He says, also with a small smile of his own. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the others." I say, leading him further into the camp. Jules emerges from one of the tents just then and gives me a strange look

"Jules, meet Thrasher, our new ally."

Jules frowns but comes towards us anyway. "Why are you here?" he asks.

"Tired of being on my own." Thrasher replies curtly.

"He's a friend of Johanna." I add.

"Great, I don't trust her either." Jules grumbles then without another word stalks back to his tent.

"They'll warm up to you." I assure him.

"I hope so."

_**Yay I'm back! Hope you all enjoyed it! Thanks for waiting patiently, This is definitely the longest I've ever gone without updating, and hopefully it'll be the last time! Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter! I think we're at like 230 or something.**_

_**Be sure to let me know what you thought of this one **___

_**Bye for now…**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	31. Breakfast in Bed

_**Wow it's been a while and I apologize. I know you have all been eager to find out if Prim is all right and all that. I have to warn you though that this chapter is pretty uneventful and doesn't have much action but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. **_

_**Thanks for all the encouraging reviews. We're nearing the end of the games but not the story, I have more plans for it **___

_**Enjoy!  
Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Chapter #31**_

(Last Time: Prim's pov- _my arm continues to throb painfully and once again I can feel myself slipping into unconsciousness. This time no one tries to stop me and just before I drift off I hear Katniss send Caspian to fetch the doctor. Come to think of it I didn't even know we had a doctor here. Luckily for me there is one, maybe now I won't die_.)

When I awake my right arm is in a cast and there are a few bandages on my legs and other arm from bruises I guess. I am still snuggled into Katniss's bed and according to the windows it looks like sometime in the middle of the night but I can't be sure. The house is silent and I wish that someone were here with me to hold my hand and tell me that everything will be all right.

It is then that I notice the TV in front of me resting on a table and looking beside the bed I find the remote on the nightstand. Having never watched anything on a TV except for the Hunger Games I pick up the remote with my good arm and push the green 'on' button. I'm a little shocked when right before my eyes there is Rory, right on the screen in front of me, like I could reach out and touch him at this moment. Instead of changing the channel, I keep my gaze fixed on his every move.

He seems to be okay. Him along with Finnick, Jules, Gloss and now Thrasher and Johanna as well, are lounging around a campfire munching on some dry crackers and just chatting. I suppose Rosa and Annie are sleeping in one of the tents nearby. I watch Rory's every move, dreading the moment that the camera to move to someone else. I have a feeling that it'll be soon because they aren't doing much but it's enough for me just to see him alive and well.

The sun is just coming up in the arena and the group stands up reluctantly. Finnick heads to the tent and just as I had suspected brings a tired and bedraggled Annie with little Rosa following shortly after. The guys pack up the small camp and ten minutes later they are heading out. I can't tell where they are going since I have no idea what happened yesterday. I do notice that Gloss has a bandage around his shoulder so I assume that there was some kind of fight that drove them to where they spent the night.

From their surroundings I can tell that they are in the _summer_ section of the arena but I can't figure out where they are headed.

Just then a knock sounds on the door and I quickly shut the TV of and place the remote on night table before inviting the person in. Not surprisingly it is Katniss with a tray of some of Peeta's creations. I almost begin drooling just from the smell wafting in towards my nose.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Katniss asks quietly, slowly moving towards the bed in the dark room.

"Just my arm hurts." I tell her.

"Yeah, the doctor said you broke it so you won't be doing much for almost 6 weeks." Katniss sets the tray on the night table and sits on the edge of the bed.

"What time is it?" I ask her, shifting into a more upright position.

"It's 6a.m. Peeta is up baking and I couldn't sleep anymore on that couch." She smirks and I can't help but smile.

"You could have slept in here." I gesture to the empty bed that I assume is Peeta's.

"I know." Katniss fingers the designs on the comforter keeping her eyes down. "But we didn't want to bother you."

"Katniss we've shared a bed smaller than this our whole lives."

"It was Peeta's idea anyway." She mutters. "Said you shouldn't be bothered or in the same bed with anyone who could move your arm."

"Well thank you." I give her a smile. "Then where did Peeta sleep?"

"Well we just figured out that the couch pulls out into a large bed so we both slept there." She blushes slightly, still averting my gaze.

"You could've figured that out sooner." I say, giving her a mock glare. "It wasn't too comfortable."

"I know, sorry about that." Katniss looks at me now and smiles. "Now, are you hungry? Peeta made breakfast extra special for you this morning."

"I'm starved." I say, looking eagerly at the tray with steam rising from a plate of cinnamon rolls.

"Good because he made enough to serve the entire neighborhood." She chuckles and lays the tray on my lap, grabbing up one of the four cinnamon rolls saying that I wouldn't be able to eat them all anyways. Surveying the feast there is a bowl or fresh fruit, the plate of cinnamon rolls, a fancy omelet with melted cheese squeezing through the crack. A huge mug of hot chocolate complete with three fat marshmallows sits on a pretty saucer in the corner of the tray and to finish it off there are two pastries with apples and cinnamon bubbling through the holes on top.

"It all looks delicious." I breathe, trying to decide what to try first. It takes a minute to get used to using a fork with my left hand but I soon get the hang of it and with a little help from Katniss get almost everything on the tray into our stomachs. Peeta walks in with perfect timing just as we are eating up the remains of the breakfast feast.

"Morning Prim." He smiles and sits on the other side of the bed across from Katniss.

"Thanks for the breakfast Peeta, it was amazing." I gush and lean in to give him a hug, totally forgetting about my arm. I wince as soon as I move the wrong way.

"Don't move Prim." Peeta chuckles, arranging the pillows behind me. "But I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Me too." Katniss grins, washing down the last cinnamon roll with the last gulp of my hot chocolate, leaving a dark brown mustache around her mouth. Peeta and I both laugh slightly but it makes me wince again.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you." He begins. "You bruised a couple of ribs from your fall so laughing, sneezing, walking and sitting up are out of the question." Katniss suppresses a smile while he says this and I smile a little too. "Well it looks like I'll get to have breakfast in bed for a little longer."

"You sure will, and I'll make sure of it." Peeta says with a firm nod of his head. "And if you'd like I'll invite some of your friends over when you feel up to it as long as you stay in bed." He finishes.

"Thanks Peeta." I tell him sincerely.

"No problem." He smiles and plants a soft kiss on my head. "I'll be in to check on you later." And then he is gone, the tray balanced on one arm, and I am left with my sister who has been silent for the last few minutes.

"Will you be okay by yourself for a little while?" She finally asks and I nod. "I'll be fine."

"Good, we'll be in later." She also sets a kiss on my head then leaves the room, the door closing with a click.

I immediately grab the TV remote and flick the on button. To my disappointment the camera is now focused on another group. I only recognized one or two people, Dayo, from District 7 who captured us a while back and Chaff from district 11. There are two other people, the female from District 7 as well and the middle aged man from District 8. If I'm right then they are the only other tributes except for our allies. I wonder if they will be splitting up soon or staying together to the end although I doubt that.

I look forward to the end and seeing more of my friends here, but I wish that they didn't have to 'die' before they come here. I am most excited, with the exception of Rory, to see Rosa and Annie. I'm almost positive that Rosa will fit in very well with our little group of girls and when I get better we can show her the tree house. Settling farther into the fluffy pillows with my arm in its cast resting on a large pillow I change the channel watch the first TV in my life.

_**Rory's POV-In the Arena**_

As soon as the sun is up in the sky we put out the fire and pack up our small camp. We are mostly out of food so Jules and I volunteer to go hunting as soon as we set up camp in a new location and Finnick offers to fish if there happens to be a river or stream near our new camp. No one except for Finnick, who is leading the group, seems to know exactly where we are heading and nobody bothers to ask, so we follow Finnick and Annie in silence.

We trudge along for about two hours and still we haven't left the summer section; it must be bigger than I had thought. Finally we come to one of the places that we had camped out a few days ago. It immediately makes me think of Prim, that she was alive and well the last time we were here. Finnick announces that we will spend the night here unless something happens that forces us to leave unexpectedly. Jules and Finnick set up the tent because Gloss can't lift anything because of his shoulder and once that is ready the girls volunteer to set out the rest of our food while Jules and I hunt and Finnick fishes at a nearby small river.

For the most part we stay quiet which is probably best while hunting for our meal. I keep the bow, Prim's bow, loaded and pointed in front of us, but after a while when nothing has made an appearance I lower it and rest my tired arms. Jules has his spear ready at his side as we step carefully around the dry sticks and leaves, but nothing shows and by the time it is around mid afternoon I am hot, tired and hungry.

"Think we should head back? Jules asks a while later.

"Yeah, I'm ready." I reply and we turn around and begin our trek back to camp, a little quicker and louder this time. We've only been walking for about five minutes when I catch the sound of rushing water nearby.

"Think that is the river where Finnick is fishing?" I ask.

"Could be. Let's go that way and maybe we can help out since we haven't had any luck so far." Jules suggests.

"Sounds good." I agree and we change our direction a little and make our way towards the sound of the water.

When we arrive we don't spot Finnick but we do notice two tributes on their knees, lapping up the water with no idea that they are being watched from the protection of the trees. I look up at Jules, my eyes full of questions. In answer he puts his finger to his lips, signaling for me to keep quiet, then he picks up his spear and launches it towards one of the tributes. It is a perfect shot, lodging itself in the back of the boy I recognize as Dayo from District 7. He cries out then falls face first into the river. The person beside him stands up looks right at me. I reach for my bow but before I can string an arrow a spear comes out of nowhere, hitting Jules unexpectedly in the stomach.

I scream before I can help myself and just catch my friend as he falls to the ground, blood already trickling from his stomach wound. I don't even bother telling him that he's going to be oaky because with all the deaths I've seen lately I know that it won't do him any good. Instead I say, "Take care of Prim would ya?"

"You bet." He replies in a raspy voice.

"You win. Win for all of us. You deserve it. W-win for P-prim."

"I'll try." I whisper, the tears already gathering around my eyes. He gives me a small smile then just like that, closes his eyes like he's just going to sleep. I gently lay his head onto the ground and stand up, wiping my face with my sleeve.

Whoever had been drinking at the stream, and also the one who threw the spear and killed Jules are out of sight by the time I get up and look around. With one last look at my dead friend I grab his small pack and sprint off through the trees back to camp, quite shaken up by what I just witnessed.

_**Prim's POV**_

Tears are falling from my cheeks as I watch Jules death and Rory's sadness. Everything just happened so quickly that it takes a minute to realize what just happened, and to convince myself that Jules isn't really dead and that he'll be here tomorrow. Maybe I can even persuade Katniss to invite him over to see me since I'm stuck in bed for the next week while my ribs heal. That shouldn't get boring at all.

Once the camera moves to the remaining three I shut the TV off and close my eyes, waiting for Peeta to bring in my next meal.

_**Well a little excitement there at the end **____** Only three more 'other' tributes left! What did you think? Hope you liked it despite the lack of action, I hope to update sooner this time but I guess we'll see.**_

_**Until next time!  
!FirePearl**_


	32. The Split

_**Hello! I know you all have waited quite a while for this next chapter and I apologize for taking so long but I am moving back to the states next weeks so I've been busy. I have to admit that I do not know when my next chapter will be up, but I'm hoping I'll have time in the next two weeks or so. Thanks for your patience and for all the sweet and encouraging reviews. **___

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games.**_

_**Together~Chapter #32**_

_(Last Time: Tears are falling from my cheeks as I watch Jules death and Rory's sadness. Everything just happened so quickly that it takes a minute to realize what just happened, and to convince myself that Jules isn't really dead and that he'll be here tomorrow. Maybe I can even persuade Katniss to invite him over to see me since I'm stuck in bed for the next week while my ribs heal. That shouldn't get boring at all._

_Once the camera moves to the remaining three I shut the TV off and close my eyes, waiting for Peeta to bring in my next meal.)_

**Rory's POV**

Two canons boom consecutively a moment before I enter our camp and I push my legs harder, praying that it wasn't one of us, it's going to be hard enough telling them about Jules. When I arrive Annie is sobbing over Rosa's body and Finnick is holding her tightly. Gloss and Thrasher both look up once I'm out of hiding from among the trees and neither of them is smiling. Dropping both packs on the ground I sprint over to where Finn and Annie are and fall to the ground beside them.

"What happened?" I whisper and Finnick takes a deep breath and points to Rosa's partially opened hand. Inside are a handful of berries. I know what those are. They look almost like blueberries but one is deadly, one is not. Nightlock. More tears begin to form around my eyes and I push them away telling myself that she died a painless death and now she'll get to be with Prim and her friends too. Placing a soft kiss on her forehead I stand up and make my way over to the others.

"There were just three canons, who were they?" Johanna asks as soon as I am seated on a log next to the mini campfire they have going.

"Jules." I choke out and Gloss gasps. Johanna shakes her head sadly and Thrasher remains impassive, unmoving, and unseeing.

"We got the other one." Johanna says quietly to me.

"The one who killed Jules?" I ask and she nods.

"It was the boy from D8 I think." She replies, "Or maybe not, but he was pretty young."

"We should split up." Thrasher suddenly says and we all look at him like he's crazy.

"I know no one wants to but there is only like 2 other tributes left and I don't want it to be only us left." He continues and we all nod reluctantly.

"He's right." Johanna agrees. "We need to split up. Finnick and Annie of course will stay together but the rest of us should go out on our own."

"Let's go tell them then." Gloss mumbles and stands up, walking slowly towards Finnick who still has Annie in his embrace.

"We've decided to split. We should have a long time ago." Gloss announces with little vigor in his voice.

Finnick nods slowly, "Yeah, I guess it's probably best. We'll divide what little supplies we have left evenly then head out a little later this afternoon."

"Sounds good." Johanna says then heads back to her log in front of the fire even though it is quite warm outside. I go to help Gloss and Thrasher take down the tent and pack everything it up so that we can get out of the area before the hovercrafts come to pick up the bodies. It only takes a few minutes since we only had two of our many tents set up, then instead of waiting until later we divide everything out evenly.

I am given a tent, a sleeping bag, a bottle of water from the stream, a package of crackers and dried fruit, fire starter, my bow, a dagger and part of the first aid kit. Everyone else is given pretty much the same except for Finnick and Annie who get a little extra. We also divide out some of the fish that Finnick caught earlier today.

I shake Gloss's hand and Finnick gives me a hug while Thrasher just slaps my back in a friendly manner. Annie, who is still teary squeezes my so hard, reminding me of how Mom hugged me in the Justice Building before coming to the capitol. Johanna who I have a feeling doesn't do hugs or anything sentimental just nods in my direction and goes back to staring into the dying embers of our campfire.

"I'll be going." Thrasher announces, his pack over his shoulder. "Good luck to you all." We say goodbye with heavy hearts and watch as he disappears into the trees.

Gloss is next to leave and I hold my breath to keep myself from breaking down like a girl, I refuse to cry. I decide to leave next, starting out in the opposite direction that the others went and with one last wave behind me to Annie and Finnick I disappear from sight as well.

I drag my feet through the dry colorful leaves, reluctant to leave the group that I've been with for the past week or two, I don't even know how long I've been trapped in this arena, or how long it has been since Prim left. I shift my pack to my other shoulder and my bow to my other hand, wondering to myself where exactly I am heading and how much longer I have. Now that I am really on my own, death seems to be much nearer and despite trying to act tough and brave for Prim right now I just feel like dropping to the ground and giving up.

But I can't do that. I know I can't. I have to fight for Prim, I have to win for her and get back and help Gale feed our families. So after a quick rest on a fallen log I get up again, filled with energy once more and continue on my way promising myself and Prim that I'll fight to the end.

_**Prim's POV**_

It breaks my heart watching Rory walk alone through the woods alone. The good-byes were even worse and I could tell how close the group of them had become over the last week.

I sip on my orange juice while I watch then once it switched to the other group and Rory seems to be fine for the moment, I flick the TV off and place my glass on the table beside the bed that I am confined to. Jules should have arrived today and I am going to try and convince Katniss to bring him and Ruby over for a visit since I can't go and welcome him myself. I've only been in bed for a about a day and a night and I couldn't be more bored. Peeta is so sweet and tried to visit me as much as he can, bringing me different things that he's baked, I swear I'll get fat if he keeps doing that. Katniss finds books from the library and brings them in to me but I'm just too restless to read.

So I wait for my sister to visit me to ask her about me having company.

Settling back into the pillows once more I resume my count of the lines and cracks on the ceiling above me. I am just beginning to feel drowsy when a knock jerks me up.

"Prim? Can I come in?" Katniss's voice calls from outside the bedroom door.

"Door's open." I reply, rubbing my eyes.

"Hey." She smiles and comes to the bed. "How're you feeling?"

"Pretty good, my arm doesn't hurt as much as it did last night."

"That's good. Would you be up for some company?"

I roll my eyes, "Are you kidding me? I'm so bored in here it hurts!"

Katniss just grins, "Good, because there is someone waiting at the door for you."

At first I think that it will be Jules coming to see me but I doubt that he would be here so soon after his arrival. My second guess is one of the girls, possibly Rue or Carissa but I know I am wrong as soon as I hear someone talking to Katniss in the living room, the voices growing ever closer.

"Caspian!" I exclaim, maybe a little to hard because I wince from the minor pain it cause my ribs.

"Hey Prim, thought you'd be bored and maybe enjoy some company." He smiles and I grin in return, "Maybe? I'm dying for someone to talk to!"

"Well it's a good thing I came then."

Katniss smirks behind them then after giving me a wink closes the door leaving the two of us alone.

"So, how are you?" He asks, sitting in a cushy chair next to the bed.

"Bored." I state.

"You haven't done anything since you were hurt?"

"Just watch the games and eat Peeta's food."

"Well I'll just have to visit more often." He grins his cocky grin and pats my good arm.

"Oh good. Have you been keeping up with the games?" I inquire, changing the subject.

"No not really. Misty does so she will fill me in from time to time, but now that we're out I'd rather not think about it."

"Yeah, I understand. I just can't stand not knowing if Rory is okay or not."

Caspian's smile fades somewhat when I say this but I can't imagine why. "Of course not." He says quickly, covering up.

"So did you know that Jules 'died' last night, or this morning I don't know?"

"No, I didn't hear that." Caspian replies, shaking his head.

"I wish I could go see him but I'm stuck in this stupid bed." I frown and stick out my lower lip for extra effect.

"Maybe I can get him to come visit." He suggests and I nod my head excitedly.

"Yes! Please do!"

He chuckles and squeezes my hand, "I'll do my best."

"So how long do u have to stay in bed?"

"Well, a week so that my ribs can heal, but I'll have a cast on my arm for about six weeks."

"Wow, I didn't know you hurt your ribs as well."

"It hurts to laugh and sneeze and cough, so don't say anything funny." I say, waggling my finger at him.

The boy laughs again then sobers suddenly and nods his head, "Okay, I won't." I give him a smile.

"Do you get nightmares?" He asks, looking at me seriously.

"I-I, well." I stutter. "I haven't slept much the past couple nights, but when I did I'd wake up in the middle of the night sweating and breathing hard."

"Were they about the games?" I nod, "I watched my friends die over and over again, especially Rory."

"I'm sorry." He covers my small hand with his and offers me a smile.

"Do you?"

"Have nightmares?" I nod again.

"Yeah, every night. Misty doesn't seem to get them but I know she has, just hides it better. Me, I end up waking up the whole house with my screaming and it takes the others forever to wake me up."

"I'm sorry." I frown, squeezing his hand tightly.

"I wonder if it's the same for every person in the games, whether victors or not." Caspian muses.

"Probably." I reply. "Seeing your friends die, those images never leave, even for the toughest."

"You're probably right. Well, I guess I'd better go. I promised Misty I wouldn't be long. She's making us a special lunch."

I smile and nod, "Of course. Thanks so much for coming over. It really brightened my day."

"No problem, I'll see if I can bring Jules or one of your other friends over tomorrow."

"Thanks Caspian."

"Get better soon Prim." He smiles and stands up, planting a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Bye!"

He waves and with one last grin the door closes behind him and I sigh in contentment, the spot where he kissed me burning up.

Peeta enters a few moments later, a large glass bowl filled with ice cream and fresh strawberries on a tray on his arm.

"For me?" I grin, reaching out for the bowl.

"Of course." He hands me the bowl and stands next to the bed, watching me dig in.

"Thanks Peeta, this is delicious."

"Not a problem." Then he changes the subject, "That boy that came to visit you, you two are pretty good friends?"

I nods, unable to speak because my mouth is full of vanilla ice cream and ripe strawberries.

"How close?"

My eyes widen when I realize what he is getting at. "We're just good friends! That is it Peeta! I promise!"

"Okay, okay, settle down. I was just wondering because he seems like a really nice boy." Peeta chuckles, patting my leg under the blankets.

"My heart belongs to someone else." I whisper, not even sure if he was able to hear what I said.

"Oh really, and who would that be?" My whole face heats up when I realize that he heard what I said and I avert my eyes from his.

"Come on Prim, you can tell me." He begs.

"Rory." I mumble.

"I knew it!" Peeta exclaims, clapping his hands together.

"Lower your voice!" I hiss at him and he just chuckles again.

"I can see the way you look at him Prim, and all throughout the games, the way you looked out for each other, he loves you too."

"I know." I whisper, still in a barely audible voice.

"You'll see him again Prim, I promise. And if he wins…"

"If he wins I might not see him until Snow's mother dies and everything changes in Panem for the better." I finish for him.

"Yeah, I hope it's soon." He says, then with a kiss on the top of my head he leaves me to finish my ice cream and strawberries alone with thoughts of Rory and Caspian on my mind.

_**Well Chapter #32 is complete! Wow! Sorry for the shorter chapter but I really wanted to post it today. Hope you enjoyed the little conversation with Caspian, I just like his character so much, but don't worry, prim only has friendly feelings towards him although his might be more ;)**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


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